Beginning of an End
by Therabidsquirrel
Summary: The saurians have returned, and this time, they're worse than ever. O.O UPDATE!! FINALLY!!!!!! Ch.5 and Ch.6 uploaded! COMPLETED!!!
1. Beginning

**__**

Beginning of an End

*** 

The beginning of an end. Thanks to Kaeera who took a look at this for me earlier. I appreciate it. :) Hope you all enjoy this. Kaeera, I may not work on Tales of Children till you're finished with your fic, if you want. *shrugs* your call. Enjoy ppls.

*** 

Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I belong to the Great King.

*** 

"Can I have a cookie?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Chameleon, dinner's in five minutes."

"But I want a cookie!"

"You'll get one after supper."

"Aww…"

"Chameleon. No whining."

"Keep it up and you won't get any desert." Mallory this time. Duke snickered as he entered the kitchen area to see Chameleon pouting, Mallory and Nosedive both scolding him as they cooked the evening meal for the team.

"Somebody's been hanging around Wildwing and Tanya." The dark feathered mallard stated. Nosedive quieted and gave a weak smile and shrug, turning a little red beneath his feathers.

"I am kinda' acting like Wing, aren't I?" he asked rather quietly.

"No. Half the time you act like Mom used to." Came Wildwing's voice as he entered the kitchen. "I used to always give in, remember?" at this point Chameleon turned to him, his mouth open. "Don't even start." Chameleon closed his mouth, pouting and hunching over.

"Don't do that. You might get stuck like that." Duke told the now five-year-old. "Stand straight. Shows better character."

"That's what Kazar always says." The child pouted, crossing his arms and standing straight.

"Well, he is right." Mallory stated, moving a hot pan from a burning eye to a cool eye on the stove. "Somebody want to set the table?" she asked.

"I will." Nosedive told her, then he looked at Chameleon. "Wanna help me?" he asked. Chameleon frowned at him for a moment, then sighed.

"Okay." He mumbled unhappily. Nosedive watched him quietly as he stalked over, then carefully handed the child the silverware. Chameleon seemed to calm a little, having been trusted with sharp objects, and began setting the table as Wildwing and Duke spoke in hushed tones about something, Duke snickering every so often and Wildwing seeming to turn a little red.

The table was soon set and food was being placed upon it, as Tanya, Grin, and Canard entered the kitchen area.

"Oh wow. Food!" Canard exclaimed, his hair damp from a shower. Wildwing snickered at him.

"Have fun working out?" he asked as Tanya sat next to him, Nosedive whispering something to Chameleon and causing the child to snicker.

"Yeah. I think I freaked out some of the humans at that gym though." Canard answered as the group began to eat. For some reason or another, Nosedive merely sat there, staring blankly at his meal.

"Something wrong?" Duke asked when he'd noticed. Nosedive shook his head, shrugging.

"No." he said quietly, looking over at Wildwing, who managed to shrug as well. His plate wasn't touched either.

"Waiting for something?" Canard asked them, giving the two an odd look. They seemed to do this often now-a-days, with no explanation as to why they were acting so strangely. They shrugged at Canard, then slowly began eating. It was a daily ritual now it seemed, and Chameleon looked at them a little weird before shrugging and eating happily. By the end of the meal, all was forgotten as the group began joking about Phil's latest publicity stunt.

"Can I have a cookie now?" Chameleon's question popped up while Tanya was pointing out how much better the publicity stunts had been lately. Nosedive got up with a nod and the child cheered, waiting as Nosedive brought back a plate. Chameleon grabbed one as did Duke and Wildwing.

"Where'd you get these?" Canard asked as Tanya took one then passed him the plate.

"I made them. I used to help Mom, Linda I mean, all the time." Nosedive told him.

"What, were you a Momma's boy or something?" Duke grinned. Wildwing and Nosedive both nodded, Mallory snickering.

"Linda wasn't that bad." Canard stated. "But she had some idea's that I used to make fun of Nosedive for doing them." Nosedive made a face.

"You were just jealous that I could." He stated, then he quieted as he began eating a cookie, trying to keep the chocolate from dripping as the cookies were still warm due to being placed on a heat pad that kept food from getting cold. It was then that Drake One went off. Chameleon covered his ears, dropping his cookie with a cry, the others leaping up. Nosedive picked him up and followed the others from the room, Chameleon howling due to the sound hurting his ears. 

Once in the ready room, Tanya shut the noise off, Chameleon's whimpering and Nosedive's soothing words being the only sound besides her typing as she tried to find out was the disturbance was.

"Teleportation energy, downtown city park." She told them, as the map popped up on the screen, a red dot flashing somewhere near the center.

"Let's move ducks. Look's like Dragaunus' finally come out of hiding." Wildwing said a little heatedly.

"Chameleon, go stay with Kazar." Nosedive ordered.

"Okay." Came the whimpered reply. Chameleon then ran in the opposite direction of the ducks. He stopped in the doorway to watch as Nosedive and Wildwing ran with the others to the Migrator. He stood still for a moment, fear washing over him like a flood as he hoped they would be okay.

o.o

The ducks exited the Migrator cautiously, the park completely empty as all the humans had been seen running from the area in terror.

"If anyone sees a really big lizard, let me know." Duke called as they began to fan out in search of the saurians. Nosedive grinned at him, pucklauncher in hand.

"Okay!" he called back cheerfully. "And you let me know if you see any doughnut welding short guys with a really big mouth! I gotta tell him the bakery's been blown up again." He grinned mischievously. Canard's snort caused the two to laugh, then quiet as they got further away from each other.

"Don't get too far apart." Wildwing's voice suddenly came softly over everyone's coms. "Dragaunus isn't too far off." He said.

"Siege is over near the lake." Nosedive's voice came over the coms this time. 

"Yeah. I'm guessing he took some lessons from Wraith." Wildwing's voice answered.

"He's giving himself away, like a beacon or something." Nosedive was saying.

"Could be a trap guys. Can you sense Dragaunus Wildwing?" Canard asked. There was silence for a moment. Then;

"Be on your toes everyone. I can't sense Dragaunus and the mask isn't picking up anything."

"Should we go after Siege then?" Duke asked. 

"Be careful that he doesn't get any shots in." was Wildwing's reply.

"I'll take that as a yes." Said Nosedive.

"I'll go in first." Mallory's voice came. It was then that all heck broke loose.

O.o

Dragaunus watched the ducks move out, then smirked when he saw the flames dancing across Wildwing's body. Again they were transparent, almost as if they were dying out.

"Not getting enough training now are we?" he growled softly. He was standing atop the Migrator, having teleported himself there after the ducks had moved away. 

Siege nodded as he caught his leaders eye. They ducks were headed straight for him, as was the plan. With him shooting golden lightning from his body, it was like cheese on a mouse trap. The ducks were heading straight for him and it killed out any 'scent' of Dragaunus. The evil dictator's smirk deepened and darkened. Soon these feathered nucienses would be gone for good.

o.O

Nosedive stopped advancing and stood straight, then looked upwards in confusion, something seeming to tug at him from within.

"Wing?" he asked into his com. There wasn't an answer for a moment.

"Yeah." Came a distracted reply.

"You two okay? Why'd you stop?" came Grin's voice.

"Dunno'." Wildwing's distracted voice came again, almost as if he were paying attention to something else… something of more importance. Nosedive understood the feeling. There was something calling for him. Something that deserved his full attention and whatever… no, whoever it was, they were going to have his full attention.

A deep calm washed over him, one such as he had never felt before. Something was telling him that everything was going to be okay… just look behind him. He did as he was 'told' then started as he heard his brother tell the others to stop where they were. It was a trap. Dragaunus was watching them from atop the Migrator. There was a loud snarl from behind as Dragaunus glared at them, then Nosedive cried out as something slammed into his back sending pain shooting up through his spine. He crumbled to the ground as he heard Duke shout something, then the sound of something being repelled off the ex-thieves saber. He groaned as a dull pain throbbed and looked to see Mallory running towards him, puck bazooka firing at something near him, and Canard following with a look of fury on his face. Mallory kneeled next to Nosedive, asking if he was okay as Canard let out a battle cry and leapt for whomever Duke was fighting. There was a loud roar and another battle cry in the distance. Wildwing and Dragaunus were now fighting as well. A cry, a snapping noise, then thundering footsteps. Mallory cried out as something grabbed her by her hair and flung her away.

"Now you die little duck." Came Siege's growl. Nosedive looked up in time to see Siege resort to a laser rifle, aiming for the teens head. There was a shout of anger, tinged with fear, and black colored boots were in front of him as the saurian fired. There was a short sound of pain. The last thing Nosedive saw was Duke falling in front of him, then silver as he lost control.

O.O

"Wildwing watch out!" Tanya cried as Dragaunus pulled back a fist glowing gold. Wildwing dodged, then yelled, white light blasting from his hand slamming Dragaunus backwards. There was yelling in the distance, then he felt something tug at him and he stumbled. Nosedive? He cried out as a scaled fist connected with his jaw. 

Dragaunus cried out in fury as Grin leapt on top of him and yanked the saurians head backwards as Wildwing regained his footing, then leapt at the dictator and punched him twice, then kicked him in the stomach as Grin released his hold in him. The two ducks stood together as Dragaunus stood, glaring at them, then let out a roar and attacked them again, his entire body covered with dancing gold lightning. Wildwing fought back, the flames starting to dance brightly, no longer transparent it seemed, the eyes of the mask glowing a furious red. Grin stepped back, standing with Tanya and waiting as Wildwing and Dragaunus locked fists, and pushing at each other, trying to throw the other off balance. Dragaunus won this battle and flung Wildwing, causing the white mallard to grunt, then cry out in pain as he was flung rather harshly into a tree, a cracking noise sounding. He sat still, pain written in his features as Dragaunus laughed at him, forgetting about the others behind him.

"I will finish you off DuCaine!" he gloated, raising his hands over his head to release the killing blow. He cried out in pain as something slammed into his back, throwing the blast off. He turned and cried out as a puck slammed into his chest.

"Get away Dragaunus!" Grin cried, Tanya firing once more. With a wave of his hand Tanya and Grin were sent flying backwards with a cry.

"Or what? You'll stop me?" Dragaunus asked sarcastically. He cried out in pain as something slammed into his back once more, this time knocking him over and pinning him down. He looked to see that it was Siege, Nosedive standing a distance away, staring at them with glowing silver eyes, his hands at his sides and his hair flying. Wildwing was standing, the white flames dancing, then flaring out. The two saurians cried out, then disappeared for they had teleported away. Wildwing grunted as the flames died and Nosedive collapsed.

"Duke's hurt!" came Mallory's cry. Wildwing grunted again as Grin helped him up.

"Help them." Wildwing then ordered the larger mallard. Grin looked at him for a moment. "Go!" Grin released him and did as he was told, Wildwing wavering a little till Tanya came over and offered a helping hand by allowing him to lean on her.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. He nodded.

"Duke and Dive…"

"I know."

"Let's get back to the Pond quick."

"You think you can drive?"

"I will." Came Canard's voice softly. He was holding his side, a wound bleeding on the side of his head. Wildwing nodded slowly.

"Let's get home quick." He said quietly.

O.o

Kazar was sitting in the infirmary, Chameleon laying in his crossed front legs, sleeping quietly. It was a rather disturbed sleep for the child kept jerking and whimpering every now and then, but it was rare when he said anything. He was worried and afraid. He'd seen when the ducks had returned. None of them were left unscathed, Tanya sporting a few scratches and a bruise on her left arm, Grin scratched up and bruised as well. Mallory was a mess, her hair in disarray, a burn on her left shoulder and Canard was bleeding from a wound in his head, sporting a bruised rib or two. Nosedive was unconscious, Wildwing nearly as bad, and Duke… Kazar closed his eyes wishing he'd seen Duke before Chameleon had, for then he could have blocked the dark feathered mallard from the child's view. But that was not how it was. Chameleon had seen Grin and Canard carrying Duke together, the elder mallard unconscious and bloodied from previous wounds the dragon was guessing. But there was a scorch mark on Duke's chest… Kazar was surprised that the duck was even breathing.

Even now as Duke lay on the medicom bed it was hard to believe that he could possibly have survived such a blast. From what Canard and Mallory said, Siege's shot had been fired at point blank. Duke should be dead, not lying in a coma. There was only one explanation as far as Kazar was concerned. The Great King was watching over them, for only He could have kept death so far at bay.

The dragon looked up as the doors to the infirmary opened and nodded as Wildwing walked in. Nosedive was laying in the bed next to Duke, still out cold. After being treated, Wildwing had been sentenced to his room for rest, Tanya staying with him and sitting on the floor beside his bed as he slept, worry for him not allowing her to leave his side. Wildwing nodded back.

"Any change?" he asked softly, the mask gone from his face. The doors opened again and Tanya walked in slowly, Mallory following behind her with red eyes. The red head immediately went to Kazar, sitting next to him and resting her head on his back, her arms covering her face as her back began shaking. She was crying. Tanya put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Kazar shook his large head.

"Nosedive is still unconscious, and Duke…" he nodded to the machines hooked up to the ex-thief showing heartbeats. "There has been no change for the better or the worse." He told them. "I am surprised that he has lived long enough for you to even patch him up." He shook his large head again slowly, dipping it downwards a little as he closed his black red rimmed eyes. "It is the work of the Great King that he is still with us." He said quietly. Wildwing said nothing, turning and looking at his brother and teammate worriedly.

"I don't know what to do. How can I help them?" he asked softly. Kazar looked up at him.

"Times like these are good times to pray." He said quietly. Wildwing looked at him.

"I haven't prayed in a long time." He muttered, Tanya looking up at him. Kazar frowned.

"It is the Great King who grants you the gifts that you have, and it is he who kept you all from being killed today." He rumbled. 

"It's the most logical explanation I've heard." Came another rumbling voice. They looked to see Grin in the doorway, Canard standing near him. Kazar nodded.

"Why don't we pray Wildwing? It may help." He offered as the two ducks joined them. Mallory sniffled looking up and nodding.

"Why don't we?" she asked softly. Wildwing nodded slowly and the group came together, bowing their heads as Kazar prayed.

-_-

In my darkest hour of need I come to you my King

Please watch over and protect us and help us as we try to go on

Our friends are hurt, please heal them

And do not let them travel from this world to the next

For to loose them would be a pain too great for us to bear

Great King, Lord of Lords, Heavenly Father

Show us your mercy once more

And keep us in your care

For without you we have nothing

And with you we are complete

Amen.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Help

Chapter Two: Help

*** 

Welcome back. Thanks to Kaeera and Akima for the great help they've been while writing this. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this. This chapter may not be as exciting as anything else I've been writing, but it is important. Hope you enjoy and if you don't really agree with most of which is in here, just remember to keep an open mind. I'm not trying to force anything on anyone. And thank you so much for that pic SpaceVixenX :)! It's awesome! Well, other than that, enjoy this and have a great day.

*** 

Mighty Ducks belong to Disney, Kazar belongs to me as do the guardians of Dimensional Limbo, and I belong to the Great King.

***

I'm alone in my room Great King.

And I'm coming before you as I did once when I was a child.

I don't know what to say Lord

For I can't remember how to do this.

It's been so long ago that I kneeled like this

On my floor, my hands clasped together…

Oh Great King please, I beg of you

Heal my brother, and don't take Duke from us!

I thank you for sending him and the others into my life

But please don't take him away

…

Great King, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Mighty One,

My Creator

Please, help me for I do not know what to do.

I hardly understand the powers you've granted me.

…

I come before you now, asking for your help

I cannot do this on my own

Please, send help

And heal my family.

…

I have but one more request from you Great King

Once long ago, I could do this

I ask if I could do it again

Great King please

May I call You

Father?

*~*~*~*

Dimensional Limbo could not be described as a cheerful place unless it was the realm you were made to live in. Three guardians knew this very well, as they had been in this realm since the beginning of time itself. 

There was a key to finding your way around in this place, and it was to watch the changing of the colors and how they moved. If you were not used to the realm it could give you motion sickness, but they were used to it. In some places the colors would spin insanely fast. In others, they would slowly rotate, seeming to become one color when they reached the center of the spin. Some places the colors would spin in a totally opposite direction of each other and in some they didn't seem to move at all, as if they were painted on a very bright white wall. In one place, the colors crisscrossed, and it was here that a guardian named Calivan was kneeling in reverence to the one who created him. His head was bowed as he muttered something softly, a prayer it seemed. After a moment he was silent, then he raised his head and opened his purple eyes. Then he 'stood' and flew away from the area. He reached a building that seemed to be almost one with the rest of Dimensional Limbo. He entered and walked through a hallway that had no doors and glowed a light blue color. At the end of the hall was an arched doorway, which he walked through entering a room that held nothing but a desk in the center and a bed on the far wall. Had it really been nearly three years since the duck named Canard had been here? Strange… but normal seeing as how time had no meaning to the guardians. It had meaning to everything else in Dimensional Limbo, but the other creatures (such as saurians) were not meant to live for eternity. 

Orian, a guardian with blue scales and gold eyes was sitting on the desk while the female guardian Jasmine sat on the bed, her gold eyes curious as she rubbed a red scaled arm. All three were wearing black scale tight clothing and boots, Jasmine's scaled covered hair tied back at the nape of her neck. Her hair reaching to mid-back while Orian's reached to his shoulders. His too was tied back at the nape of his neck. Calivan's went a little past his shoulders, also tied at the nape of his neck. There was an unusual look of seriousness on his human-like face, as he was usually the one overflowing with energy as if everything were a game to any who didn't know him. The two before him knew him well, they'd been with him since the beginning.

"What did He have to tell you?" Jasmine asked.

"The youngest DuCaine is injured." Calivan stated softly. The two before him started, but silence reigned the room. "The Great King has assured me that he will be fine. The boys friend is injured as well…" he shook his head. "The saurians there have reverted back to their old ways." He told them. Orian's face contorted with disgust and a deep hatred, and he hissed showing what humans would refer to as 'vampire-like' teeth.

"The fools." He growled. "They are killing themselves."

"And everyone around them if the sons of DuCaine are not careful." Jasmine stated.

"If we are not careful you mean." Calivan stated back.

"We?" Orian asked.

"We're being sent in again." Calivan told him. "The eldest has finally come to the Great King, asking for help. The Great King has heard him, and is sending us as an answer." Jasmine and Orian stood.

"Right." They said as one.

"Which should stay? Lucretia doesn't need to be left alone." Calivan stated. Jasmine and Orian looked at each other, then nodded.

"I'll stay." Jasmine said, looking back at Calivan. "She doesn't snap at me as much as she does the two of you." She told them. Calivan nodded, then looked at Orian.

"Go prepare yourself. I will call you when He has told me it is time." He ordered. Orian nodded, then walked past him and out the door. Calivan looked at Jasmine. "Ready two cells."

"Two? But there were four…"

"One is in the keep of the DuCaine's and is a child once more. He is being raised in the service of the Great King by a dragon named Kazar. The eldest saurian is dead, and his soul was lost to the darkness." Jasmine winced. "There are but two left, and he had taught them the old ways before leaving their world."

"It is sad." Jasmine said as Calivan turned to leave. He looked back at her. "It is sad that only one has come to know the Great King." Calivan nodded.

"It is my prayer that they will all have the chance to know him." He said softly. "But I have no control over them. They are creatures of free will, which is why they are fallen."

-_-

Wildwing stood, a feeling of light weightiness coming over him as he looked about the room as if seeing it for the first time.

"Whoa." He breathed, almost giddy it seemed. He grinned and bowed his head once more, thanking the Great King, then sighed and opened his eyes. Everything was going to be fine. It was the reply the Great King had given him, and he had faith that the Great King would keep his word.

"Wing?" came Chameleon's voice. Wildwing looked to see the child in the doorway. "Are you okay?" he asked, walking in quietly. Wildwing smiled down at him, then lifted him up.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He told the child comfortingly. "How about you?" he asked.

"I'm scared." The five-year-old said, putting his arms around the white mallard's neck. 

"Of what?"

"I don't want Duke to die." Suddenly Chameleon was crying and Wildwing was silent. He kneeled and allowed the child to stand as he hugged him close.

"It's gonna' be okay Chameleon." Wildwing said softly. "Everything will be fine."

"How do you know?" the child sobbed, his face buried in Wildwing's shoulder.

"The Great King promised Chameleon. And I believe him." Chameleon merely continued to cry, Wildwing holding him and letting him. Sometimes you just needed to cry, and he wasn't about to stop the child from doing so. 

Tanya looked in a moment later and watched for a moment, and smiled softly as she did so, praying softly for her teammates and herself. They were all going to need help.

-_-

Orian was bowed in reverence, the Great King speaking with him as well in the form of a bright light that nothing could extinguish, colors seeming to be one with this ultimate form of light. 

It was times like this that Orian treasured and loved to have, for the Great King was love in its purist form, and was fond of letting all of his 'children' know how deep his love ran for them. It was this reason that caused many of any race or planet to think of him as weak. And they were wrong to think of him as such. Just as his love was pure, so was his power, and his anger. No matter what planet a person was from, his righteous anger was well known, and all those who sided with the darkness found it first hand, either in their lifetime, or afterwards. Sadly, it pained him to watch his creations turn from him, for it was his will that they be with him. It was the purpose of their lives, to serve him, to be with him. That was why followers of the Great King on Puckworld called the religion 'The Servanthood'. For it didn't take much to be served, but it took a great sense of humbleness to serve another without complaint, and believe when others laughed and mocked you, or even turned away.

Servanthood was not left without reward, for there was a new outlook on life, things being seen differently. People were brought into follower's lives, and many stayed with them till the end. Everyday lessons are learned, for there is no end to what the Great King has to show, and has to teach, and some lessons have to be learned many times over.

The guardians knew this well, for they too were servants of the Great King, and they found pleasure in following him. Even now Orian was content, knowing what many others knew as well.

"Orian, it is time to go." Came Calivan's voice. Orian looked up and realized the light had gone long ago, yet he had not realized it, for the presence of the Great King still remained. Orian stood and looked over at his comrade and nodded.

"Then let's go." He said softly. Calivan nodded and lifted a hand, the colors swirling together and then changing till a 'window' appeared showing downtown Anaheim.

"Shall we?" Calivan asked. Orian bowed, his hands motioning to the portal.

"After you!" he joked. Calivan grinned.

"Why thank you!" he snickered. He and Orian chuckled, then leapt through together.

^-^

Canard was opening and closing his com unit, not really sure of what he should do. Years ago a guardian of Dimensional Limbo had tapped his com and told him to contact them when the battle was won…but what if it seemed to be almost impossible? Two teammates down, one probably going to die… he stopped there. Maybe they could help… He opened the com, static appearing on it as he searched for any answer. Yes. Maybe the guardians would help.

^_^

"What is that?" Calivan asked, looking around as something beeped. He turned full circle, Orian frowning at him with his hands on his hips.

"Communicator?" he asked, rolling his eyes. Calivan grinned sheepishly at him.

"Oh yeah…" he breathed, reaching up to his shoulder where a radio mechanism sat.

"And He made you leader why?" Orian grinned. Calivan grinned cheekily at him.

"He likes my sense of humor." He grinned back. He pressed a button and grinned cheekily at Orian as if to say 'Ha! I found it.' "Yes?" he asked quickly.

"Calivan?" came Canard's voice.

"Hey! Canard! Our little ducky friend! Where you at?"

"The Pond. Why?"

"Well where's the Pond?" Orian asked.

"Pond? What Pond? They have a pond here in this city?" Calivan asked, looking at the many humans who were staring at them as they slowly walked by. There was silence for a moment then…

"You're here on Earth?" Canard asked in surprise.

"Yeah. The Great King sent us." Orian said, looking around and waving a small little boy that was clinging to his mothers hand. The child grinned widely, waved, and then pointed them out to his mother. She looked down at him, over at the guardians, then hurriedly pulled her son away.

"Stay where you are. I'm coming for you." Came Canard's voice, then the sound of him stopping the transmission.

"How's he going to find us?" Orian asked, looking at Calivan. 

"I guess they can track us or something. I dunno'." He stated. Then he sighed and looked around. "Welcome to the Freak show. We are the main attractions this evening." He muttered under his breath. A couple of teens passing by laughed then grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up and moving on. Orian raised an eyebrow and looked at Calivan who shrugged, neither knowing what a 'thumbs up' meant.

^-^

Canard walked into the infirmary, hoping Wildwing would be there but found Grin instead watching over the two sleeping ducks, his arms crossed.

"Where's Wildwing?" Canard asked him, looking around. Grin shrugged. 

"In his room I think. He told me that he had something he wanted to do." He rumbled.

"I wonder what." Canard said, putting his hands in the pockets of the jeans he was wearing as casual clothing instead of his armor. He was also wearing a plain T-shirt untucked making him look comfortable. Grin was wearing his normal civvies outfit, shaking his head. 

"I haven't a clue." He admitted to Canard's questioning statement. The tan mallard sighed, looking down and scoffing the metallic floor with a sneaker.

"Great. Well, I'm going to go look for him." He told Grin, removing his hands from his pockets.

"Wildwing?" came a mutter from one of the medicom beds. Canard and Grin looked to see Nosedive inhale deeply and slowly take his left arm to rub his face.

"Nosedive?" Canard asked, moving over to the teen as Grin stood and followed. Nosedive blinked at him for a moment.

"Hi." He mumbled wearily. "Wildwing?"

"I'm going to go get him." Canard said quickly.

"Okay…" with that Nosedive let his arm fall and he closed his eyes, falling asleep. 

"I'm going to find Wing."

O.o

Wildwing was with Tanya, talking to Mallory in the hallway when Canard ran up. The three kind of looked at him for a moment as he bent to catch his breath, then grinned up at them.

"Nosedive woke up. He's asleep again, but he woke up." He told them. "And I'm going to get the guardians from Dimensional Limbo. They told me that the Great King sent them." He told. Mallory looked at him for a moment, then broke out into a run, headed straight for the infirmary. Wildwing was smiling brightly.

"Prayer does work." He grinned, then followed. Tanya smiled at Canard.

"Need some help?" she asked. Canard nodded and the two left together to bring the guardians to the Pond.

To Be Continued…

Thank you Akima for helping me with the subtitle. :)

More is on the way. Wait just a while friends. It is coming, slowly but it's coming. 

Thank you all for being so patient.


	3. Echoes of the Past

Echoes of the Past

*** 

Hey everyone. Sorry if the story is getting a little boring, but it will get better soon. Promise! Thanks to Akima who looked this part over for me and listened to my little rants about it too. Thanks to my roommate and my sister who helped out as well. And thanks to the Great King that I can even get it to look pretty on paper.^-^ Hope you all enjoy. Thanks for the reviews :) And don't worry, I will finish all stories… in time.;) 

*** 

Mighty Ducks belong to Disney.

*** 

Disaray. Destruction. In the words of Mookie and Thrash… Totally trashed. The insides of the raptor were torn apart, as if a massive battle had taken place. Fire burned on the motherboard of a computer, Siege and Dragaunus standing near it in a face off with each other. Eyes filled with primal rage, smoke coming from Dragaunus' nostrils and both of them growling at each other in fury.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" Dragaunus roared, shaking what was left of his ship.

"MY FAULT?! YOU WERE THE ONE JUST STANDING THERE!!" Siege bellowed. Simultaniously the two roared, snapping at each other as their ancestors had several hundred years before, as they had at one time been a barbaric race.

A book lay in the center of the room as the two fought each other, lightning leaping off their bodies, their eyes turning black from the power they had taken on. The book was open on the floor, being the only thing not yet destroyed and the only thing Wraith had left behind besides a staff that held a duck skull on the top. This book, though seemingly unimportant, was feared by many races and held sacred by only one. The saurian race for centuries had studied this book almost religously, never having the courage to actually do all the incantations and actions it contained in its old frayed pages. Dragaunus and Siege were not afraid, and very power hungry.

Siege roared as he took a swipe at Dragaunus with a fisted hand, covered in yellow flame. Dragaunus merely stepped back, the punch missing him by mere inches. He snarled, snapping with his teeth and lashing out with a clawed and flaming hand. The two saurians reared back and slammed into each other, lashing out with teeth and claws, reverting back to the barbaric ways of their ancestors. Roars, snarls and yelps were heard as they tried to beat each other to a pulp. It was when Dragaunus threw Siege to the ground and blasted him with a weak toss of his new power, did it actually end.

"You will obey me and not question me." the taller saurian growled, Siege staring at him with a silent and hateful glare.

"Only for a little while Dragaunus." The larger saurian growled as his 'leader' turned away. "I will beat you, and I will rule over this pathetic planet! Then _you_ will serve _me_." he let out a roar of pain as Dragaunus suddenly turned and raked his claws through the larger saurians face.

"If I didn't need you to be a decoy, I would finish you off here and now!" Dragaunus roared, once again turning away and lifting up the book, closing it and causing dust to rise from its frayed pages. He snorted and threw the book into Siege's chest. "However, till the day I can be rid of you, you shall continue in your 'training'." He purred. Then he turned away. "I give you till sunrise to learn something new. If you can. Seeing as you are the lesser creature here…" A gutteral growl came from behind him.

"And where are you going?" Siege snapped, sitting up. Dragaunus merely walked away.

"I have work to be done." The taller saurian stated darkly. Whatever work there was to be done apparently required solitude.

O.O

Wildwing was standing in front of Drake One, eyeing the computer screen as he watched for teleportation energy. After making sure that his brother was alright, he'd come here, leaving the teen to Mallory. Sadly, Duke hadn't changed, for better or for worse and it bothered the mallard.

"You know you get this funny look and stance when you get seriously thoughtful." Came a familiar voice. Wildwing turned and frowned. Mallory gave him a sheepish look, Nosedive leaning on her wearily. "Hey bro."

"You know, you should be in bed." Wildwing chastised. Nosedive waved him off and came over to his older brother with Mallory's help.

"Nah. Too boring." He grinned.

"Thanks Mallory." Wildwing said sarcastically. She shrugged.

"It was either this, or listen to him whine." She told him. Wildwing shook his head.

"Couch." He ordered.

"Fine." Nosedive muttered, allowing Mallory to drag him down the stairs to the living room. Once there he plopped down on the cusions of the couch and lay back with a flourish. "Ah. My throne." He said sarcastically. He let out a cry as Mallory whacked him with a pillow. "Man, first day back in the living world and Mal's already abusing me!" the teen cried out pitifully, then grinning evilly and attacking the red headed duck with the same pillow she'd hit him with. Wildwing merely shook his head as he watched, then turned and looked back up at Drake One. The side door swished open and the fighting behind him stopped. He turned and started. Canard and Tanya walked in, followed by two scaled, human-like creatures. One had green scales and purple eyes, hair tied at the nape of his neck cut a little past his shoulders. The other had blue scales and gold eyes, hair also tied back at the nape of his neck, cut off right at the shoulders. Both wore black suits, and while the blue one looked serious, the green one was grinning.

"Drake!" the green one said. The blue one rolled his golden eyes as Canard shook his head.

"Wildwing." He corrected as he brought the two creatures over to his team leader, Tanya frowning when she saw Nosedive and Mallory and walking towards them after giving Wildwing a quick kiss on the cheek. The green scaled creature grinned cheekily and opened his mouth. Only an 'oof' came out as the blue creature jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow and then looked around the room innocently. "They've been like this since we picked them up." Canard said softly to Wildwing. "Allow me to introduce, two of the three guardians of Dimensional Limbo." He said in a louder tone, motioning at the two. Wildwing blinked in surprise as the two merely waved.

"Hi." Said the blue one. The green one was too busy frowning at his partner and rubbing his rib cage to say anything.

"Uh… hi…" Wildwing said slowly, unsure of the two before them.

"The blue one is Orian and the green one is Calivan." Canard stated. 

"Ah." Wildwing replied with a nod, unsure now of what to say. Calivan snickered suddenly.

"You're Terry's son aren't you." He grinned. Wildwing looked at him in surprise.

"You knew my dad?" he asked. At that Nosedive started, staring at the two guardians in surprise.

"Seriously?" he asked. "You knew our dad?" 

"Yeah." Calivan nodded.

"It's a really long story." Orian stated.

"Yeah, one I'm sure you folks… wouldn't want to hear." Calivan said seriously. Wildwing gave him an odd look.

"Why wouldn't we?" he asked. Canard frowned, then looked at Wildwing.

"Maybe we should sit down. Then you guys could start from the beginning." He offered. Wildwing nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me." He stated.

"Hey! You can tell us how you met Drake DuCaine himself!" Nosedive called cheerfully. Calivan suddenly grinned as he followed Canard and Wildwing down the stairs to the Living room.

"Drake was an awesome guy. He gave me my name!" he exclaimed.

"He gave us all our names." Orian stated calmly. He and Calivan stood as the others sat down, looked at each other, then sat on the floor crossed legged before them.

"Um, you could sit in a chair." Wildwing offered, sitting next to Tanya.

"No thanks. Drake offered once, and we spent the whole time jumping on his furniture." Orian told him.

"But that's only because the padding was so soft and bouncy… it was fun!" Calivan grinned. Nosedive snickered, Mallory on his right and Canard between her and Wildwing.

"Yeah. I'd do that too but Tanya would shoot me." He admitted.

"Ouch. With a puck launcher thing? That would hurt!" Calivan made a face, then grew serious and looked at Wildwing. "So… where would you like for us to start?" he asked.

"How about the beginning? How you met Drake DuCaine." He said.

"Yeah. Hey, how many of your kind are there?" Mallory asked.

"Just us and Jasmine." Orian told her.

"Two guys and one girl?" Nosedive asked. At the nods he shook his head. "You guys must fight a lot."

"Fight?" Calivan asked. He and Orian shared a confused look, then looked back at Nosedive. "Why would we fight?"

"For her affection?"

"Oh wait. Drake asked that once, remember?" Orian said suddenly as Calivan gave Nosedive an odd look. "Before he named us."

"Oh yeah…" Calivan breathed. He shook his head. "We never fight over Jasmine. We were never meant to have any relationships. We're basically family. Orian and I are brothers, Jasmine is our sister." He explained.

"Don't you get lonely for someone?" Mallory asked.

"No. We're not meant to have the same kinds of relationships you do. We have no drive for it." Orian stated.

"In other words, we were never meant to reproduce." Calivan stated quickly.

"Oh."

"Getting back to Drake…" Calivan said as the ducks shared a look. He looked at Orian. "Why don't you tell them?" he asked suddenly. "You and Jasmine were the only ones there."

"Where were you?"

"Fixing the B.R.A.W.N. robot remember?"

"Oh yeah. Okay." He took a deep breath. "Drake DuCaine was your normal hockey player on the planet called Puckworld when the saurians invaded. The saurians in those days were a barbaric race, relying on 'black magic' as some liked to call it. They followed a being called The Ancient Dragon. Otherwise known as Apollyon. He is the enemy of the Great King and commands armies of darkness and chaos. It is from he that the saurians got their powers, and it was he who gave them their drive to take over Puckworld." Orian told them calmly, a glint of deep hatred in his eyes. Hatred of the one called Apollyon. "So, being the 'loyal' little lackeys they were they went. When they came it was a nightmare on Puckworld. One minute the people were going around, minding their own businesses and dealing with their own problems and the next moment they were dodging blasts of golden lightning, fire balls… basically anything those lizards were trained to toss. They could lift buildings, throw them, could cause people's bodies to freeze with a simple spell… thousands died that day. The people didn't know what to do, and those that could ran and hid deep underneath the mountains. Drake DuCaine was with them, and just as terrified as the rest. They had no way to fight those creatures, and were losing hope. Drake was among the ones losing hope, yet he did something the others did not. A scared as they were of going up to the top side, Drake left the safety of the caverns they'd been in for several months and walked right out into the open. Fortunately for him, the saurians were all lying low in what used to be the city. After the attack it was merely a pile of rubble… a dragon's den. The saurians had destroyed basically everything and everyone. There were no bodies, not any whole ones anyway…" he paused for a moment as a shudder went through the ducks before him. Calivan merely shook his head and Orian continued. "Drake didn't go too far, but from where he was he could see enough. From what he told me, he fell on his face in the dirt, sobbing and asking why this had happened to his people. He kept asking over and over what his people had done to deserve this and begged the Great King to help him. Next thing we all knew, he was standing up in Dimensional Limbo. We're not really sure how, but the Great King had brought him to our Realm. We were all told that he was there, but we were also told not to come find him."

"Why?" Tanya asked.

"The Great King wanted to speak with him alone." Calivan said. "And He knew that Drake wouldn't listen if He'd kept the poor guy on Puckworld, so He took him to our home." Orian nodded.

"Drake was terribly distressed and he and the Great King spoke for several hours. When we were finally granted permission to see him, he had been given the powers that Wildwing and Nosedive have inherited." Orian nodded at the two who merely looked at him. "We trained with Drake for a few days till he'd perfected this gift the Great King had granted him, then Jasmine and I escorted him back to Puckworld, and Calivan stayed behind to fix the B.R.A.W.N."

"What had happened to it?" Nosedive asked.

"It fell down and went kaboom." Calivan said calmly. Orian gave him a look and he grinned sheepishly, shrugging.

"It came into Dimensional Limbo by means of the dimensional gateway at a bad time and Drake accidently blasted it." Orian told them. "Nothing too big."

"Nothing too big? I was scrapping that thing up out of Limbo for hours!!" Calivan exclaimed.

"Hey. You were the one who offered to pick up the pieces and rebuild it."

"Don't remind me." Nosedive snickered at the two and Orian calmly got back to his story.

"Anyway, like I said, Jasmine and I escorted Drake back to Puckworld, but we had to protect him the moment we arrived. The saurians knew from their 'Master' the Ancient Dragon, what we were and they were furious that we had come to Puckworld. It was then that they actually started using technology. They'd gotten bored and had taken guns and remade them so that they fired lasers, made ships that could fly… most of it didn't work for too long though. They would fight each other, and the strongest would be the leader. Everything around them would be destroyed, and sometimes inoccent saurians would die."

"Yeah. Some of the saurians were pacifists. It was a saurian that saved them." Calivan stated. Orain regarded him coolly.

"Who's telling this story? You, or me?"

"You."

"Okay then. He's right though. A saurian did save us. His name was Damagar and he was really, really big. Didn't really mean anything except that the other saurians ran in fear of him because they thought he'd tear them in half. He was actually a gentle spirit, very soft spoken as well. He was a good friend, and later very protective of DuCaine. From what Drake told us a few days after the battle was won, Damagar gave his life for him."

"That wasn't in the books." Canard muttered.

"Of course not. It was an embaressment to the Saurians and too hard for the Puckworlders to believe." Orian nodded at the tan mallard. "You know, it was Damagar who helped us forge the mask. It was his idea. The saurians had cloaking sheilds and extremely advanced technology compared to what the Puckworlders had, and it was next to impossible for a newly gathered resistance to fight back, even with Drake's new abilities. So when Drake decided to use hockey techniques to catch the saurians off guard and pound them into the dirt at the same time, Damagar decided that making a goalie mask with certain capabilities might be a good idea. Capabilities like sensing energy readings, and seeing things for what they really were. He also made it so that only a duck could wear it.

"He tossed this idea up in the air to Drake, who thought it was a great idea and ran with it. So, Jasmine and I found ourselves helping forge it. We came back from Dimensional Limbo just to do so, Calivan came with us this time as well. He knew more about electronics, and knew all the specifics that we would need. I knew how to work with the right metals, and Jasmine knew how to sculpt it. Drake was the one who the mask was made to fit, and Damagar was the one who basically over saw the entire thing so we would get it right. After that, we went back home and left the fight up to him. He used both the mask and the powers he'd been granted, the Puckworlders following him without much question, and with a more renewed hope. It took several months, but they defeated the saurians. What was left of the race Drake brought to Dimensional Limbo where we were keeping them till Dragaunus found a way to get free." Orian shook his head. "I regret that we knew nothing of his plans." He said softly. Then he shook his head. "But, on the day that the saurians were dropped off in Dimensional Limbo, Drake gave us all names as thanks for helping him. Then he left. He continued to visit us on many occasions. One occasion he told of us of duck called Ruben, who'd been in the service of the saurians and had sold his soul to the Ancient Dragon. When we asked if he wanted us to take care of him in Limbo he shook his head, for his son had killed the duck after finding him trying to kill Drake while he slept one night. Drake's son Logan was upset about what he'd done, having just come of age. He'd used the 'Powers of DuCaine', as you call it, to kill one of his own kind. On behalf of Logan, Drake asked us if there was any way the power could be taken from them. We didn't know and told him so, so he finally turned to the Great King again. The Great King told him that when the power is not in need it will die down. It will not leave and always be passed to the first born. As long as Logan didn't train this power in order to grow stronger, the gift would not be easy to use. Like in hockey. If you don't practice, you kind of forget how to play." Orian explained to them.

"Drake's son killed Ruben?" Wildwing asked, surprised.

"Out of self defense really." Calivan told him. "He couldn't sleep that night and thought he heard something coming from his father's room. His mother had died giving birth to him, so he was curious as to what it could be seeing as how Drake had never bothered to remarry. When he entered his fathers room, he saw his Ruben standing over his father with a dagger in hand and he cried out. Drake had woken up and them blasted the duck back and leapt out of bed, telling Logan to run. Logan had tried, but Ruben was faster. Using the power that the Ancient Dragon had given him, he blasted DuCaine and tackled Logan, flipping him over in order to watch the young mans face when he stabbed him. Logan had merely flung him back with his own power and then fought with him. It ended when Logan lost his temper after Ruben actually got a hit in on his father. Logan… snapped the crazed ducks neck."

"Man. That's gotta be bad when one guy does it to you, and then his ancestor does it again." Nosedive breathed. Wildwing gave him a look and he quieted.

"Well, it was really hard for Drake when Ruben died." Calivan stated, gaining attention.

"What do you mean?" Wildwing asked.

"Drake and Ruben had been really close friends. Almost brothers." Calivan explained. "No one really knows what drove him to become a traitor. But more than anything, it is agreed that he was jealous of Drake."

"Jealous? Of what?" Mallory asked him.

"Of the power he'd been given. No one else was granted this power, just Drake." Orian explained. "It drove Ruben crazy, so he offered his services to the Saurians in hopes that they would give him some control over some of Puckworld to get back at DuCaine, or so we suspect. Whatever the cause, he didn't stop there. He went insane and found pleasure in torturing those of the saurian race and those of his own kind. Then one day, he sold his soul to the Ancient Dragon, and we know he did that for power. It was his only reason and he told Drake this on the night he tried to kill him."

"Good grief." Canard breathed. Wildwing merely shook his head.

"It's sad." He muttered.

"I guess he was the Lucretia DeCoy of his time." Tanya said softly.

"Only more on the loony side." Nosedive added.

"You'd have to be nuts to side with the saurians in the first place." Mallory pointed out. Nosedive shrugged.

"That's true." He agreed.

"I have a question. Why did our people forget about all of this?" Wildwing asked. "Why and when did it all turn into a myth?" Calivan and Orian shrugged.

"Good question. But honestly we don't really know. People just began making up tales of Drake's greatness and stuff like that, and after a while you couldn't tell what was truth or fiction I guess. It happens." Calivan told him. "But it was never a myth for us. More like an ongoing nightmare."

"What do you mean?" Nosedive asked.

"Anytime a person is granted power they have one of two decisions they could make. In times of war they can use it for good, or in times of peace the DuCaine's could let it die out. Or, they could twist it for their own causes." Orian told him. "There was more than one occasion a DuCaine was brought to Dimensional Limbo by the Great King as punishment, and more than several died there. The power was stripped of them and the second borns firstborn was the next to inherit the power of DuCaine.

"You see, the power of DuCaine basically works like this. It is passed from first born to first born, and if another child is born to the family (Which was rare) the two would share the power and it would be much stronger than if there were just one DuCaine. Now, if the first born were to be killed before he or she came of age, the younger would not gain any powers, but his or her first born child would when they came of age." He explained to them.

"Well, that clears up a lot." Mallory muttered, but her words were missed as Orian continued.

"There were several who decided that they would use the power of DuCaine to their own will and instead of letting it just 'hibernate', I guess that's what you could call it, they practiced it and tried to grow stronger. When they felt they were strong enough, they would start attacking innocent ducks with this power. But it was not meant to be used this way. The Great King would drag them to Dimensional Limbo and as I said before, imprison them there. 

"However, there was one the was not imprisoned. Her name was Ellie, and she had a younger brother by the name of Collin. Collin was but six years of age when he started gaining powers of DuCaine thanks to his sister. She could call him, could basically use him if she couldn't do something herself, making the two of them stronger than she was by herself when they were together. She grew jealous that he was gaining this power at a younger age, and thirsted for more of it. She figured that if she killed him that the power he had inherited would automatically go to her."

"Oh no. She didn't…" Wildwing stopped at Calivan and Orian's nods.

"She did." Orian told him. "Her parents had left for the evening, asking her to watch over her younger brother and keep him safe. She promised that she would, and while her brother slept, she smothered him to death. Her mother, being a decendent of Drake DuCaine, knew what had happened when she was suddenly cut off from her youngest child." Orian looked at Wildwing. "If anything were to happen to your brother…"

"I know. I would know. I would find him." Wildwing interrupted. "I've been able to do so for years." He admitted. Calivan smiled.

"Because you two were chosen. Chosen to fight a battle to end all battles." He said softly. Wildwing and Nosedive looked at each other in confusion, then looked back at the guardians.

"I'll explain in a moment." Orian said softly. "But getting back to my tale, Christa, mother of Ellie and Collin, rushed home to find only the body of her son. Ellie had fled. The Great King was displeased with her and she knew it, but was unwilling to face punishment. Sadly, she was not to go to Dimensional Limbo, her crime was too great. Never before had anyone actually been murdered out of cold blood. Hurt maybe, but the DuCaine's were always stopped before they could go too far. Ellie was the first to kill, and her punishment was no less than what she had dished out. Calivan and I were the ones to give her her punishment. The Great King gave us swords, and sent us to Puckworld. We can fly," he told them quickly. "So in order to find her, we flew over the cities and the countryside after seeing to her mother. Christa was in no shape to do what had to be done; this was her daughter… So we searched alone. We found her, running through a deep forest. I'll never forget the look of terror on her face. I hated what we had to do." He shook his head and quieted, Calivan looking down at the floor with dull interest.

"You killed her, didn't you?" Canard asked. The two nodded.

"It was the punishment for murder. Murder for more power. It doesn't work like that." Calivan told them.

"What… what would happen if Nosedive died?" Mallory asked softly.

"What do you think?" Orian asked. "There is a bond that is nearly unbreakable that DuCaine siblings share. Wildwing may live, he may not. Depends on how determind he is to stay alive. He'd have to have a really good reason. Like how much he loves his friends maybe and if there were still a threat around. If there were not threat to fight, and Nosedive were killed, I doubt Wildwing would live for long." He gave Wildwing an unreadable look. "And he wouldn't gain anymore power. In all truth, he would loose some of it. Half of his power is sitting right there." He nodded at Nosedive. "The two share, and feed off of each other. If anything were to happen to Wildwing now, Nosedive would loose most of his power to where he could probably only sense things." He told them.

"Wait. Time out! Okay, I understand all of that." Nosedive said, holding his hands up in the sign of a 'T'. "But I just don't understand how the power of DuCaine was passed on to us if both Ellie and Collin were killed. Was there another sibling you didn't tell us about?" he asked.

"Not for some time no." Calivan told him. "But yes, Christa did have another child. His name was Joseph. Even on this planet the name has the same meaning; 'God shall add'."

"Yes, and his first born son gained the powers of DuCaine next." Orian told them. "But he refused to even try to use them, for he was afraid he'd become like Ellie, even though he was an only child. Even so, it was a few years before another DuCaine came to Limbo. He was the great-grandson of Jeremy, Joseph's son. And his name was Terry." He looked at Wildwing. "Your father. That's how we knew him." Wildwing sat forward.

"What do you mean? Did he visit?"

"You could say that." Calivan said grimly. "But when he first came he was placed in the cell that Lucretia DeCoy now occupies." Eyes widened.

"No way." Nosedive breathed.

"What? Why?" Wildwing asked in disbelief. "Dad wasn't a bad guy, he was a great guy! He used to never do anything wrong!"

"He also used to be power hungry." Orian told him. "He let it go to his head and tried to take over Dimensional Limbo itself. How he got it in his head to try that is beyond me. But once he got there, his power was stripped of him and we imprisoned him. He was only there for maybe a week before he came to his senses and repented."

"Then he went home, with no powers of DuCaine." Calivan finished. Then he smirked, a glint in his eye. "Well, that he knew of anyway."

"What do you mean?" Nosedive asked. "I mean, why did he go home and not anyone else?"

"Oh he wasn't the first." Calivan explained as Orian sighed and leaned back against the wall. "If any of the DuCaine's that went nuts repented, they were sent home, just with no power… That they knew of… But there were many who refused to repent and died in Dimensional Limbo. It's sad that they died the way they did." He told them. "But about the power, they were given the gift to sense if anyone they loved was in danger of being hurt, so that they could find a way to keep it from happening." Nosedive looked at Wildwing, who nodded.

"Yeah. He always did have a knack for showing up before something bad happened. Like the time Dive fell out of a tree and nearly broke his neck. He would have if Dad hadn't run up and caught him." He said.

"When was that?" Canard asked.

"A week before they were killed. Dive and I were playing in the backyard, and I helped Dive climb a tree, but he slipped and I couldn't catch him. Dad ran from the house and caught him before he hit the ground. He'd just been watching the news and suddenly took off for the backyard." Wildwing told him. Orian and Calivan nodded.

"Yep. That's how it worked." Orian stated. Nosedive shook his head.

"Man. This is all messed up!" he exclaimed.

"But why didn't Dad ever tell me that he was a DuCaine?" Wildwing asked, ignoring his brother for a moment, Nosedive stretching wearily.

"Who knows?" Calivan shrugged. "Maybe he didn't think you would inherit it since it had been taken from him."

"None of the DuCaine's that went back home, or stayed behind, spoke of the crimes that had been commited by family members using the power of DuCaine." Orian told him. "I think they were too ashamed to. I know Terry was. When we told him he could go home, he didn't move for an hour. He was heart broken that he'd done what he did. I'd never seen any of the DuCaine's before him act like he did. When the others that had repented and found they could go home, they jumped up and out of that cell faster than anything I've ever seen." He stated. Calivan nodded.

"I asked him about that." He said softly. "I think he was upset over some girl he liked. Said she probably wouldn't want anything to do with him after what he'd done." He grinned suddenly. "But if I remember correctly, the Great King told me that she'd married him not soon after he left Limbo." He told them.

"That is so sweet!" Mallory exclaimed.

"Yeah. Mom was an awesome woman." Wildwing said softly. Canard snickered.

"My mom would talk about her every so often." He said. "Said that Nosedive favored your mother and that the woman had to be crazy to marry a man that liked to prank people." He told them. He shook his head. "Either that or just very strong in nature." Wildwing chuckled.

"Where do you think I learned half the stuff I pulled?" he asked, a look of mischief in his eyes. "Dive wasn't even a month before Dad dyed Mom's hair bright pink. She was furious!" he snickered. Nosedive snickered quietly and shrugged.

"I don't remember much of her, except that for when Wing and Dad were gone, she'd turn on some music and dance with me." He said quietly, staring dully at the far wall. "It's the only memories I have of her." Silence overtook them all, and they sat there, not knowing what to say. It ended though when Orian cleared his throat.

"So… we heard that another teammate of yours was injured. Is he alright?" he asked. Again silence, then Tanya stood.

"He's in a coma." She told them softly. "And I'd better go and check on him. Sorry, I'll be back later." With that she left, hurrying towards the infirmary.

"What happened to him?" Orian asked. Calivan looked at him.

"Siege blasted him with a laser gun a point blank. Duke was trying to protect Nosedive." Wildwing told them. Mallory merely lay her head on Nosedive's shoulder, a pained look on her face.

"Neither of them would have been hurt if I'd been faster." She muttered. Nosedive put an arm around her and held her close and Canard shook his head.

"That's not true. If it were, I'm just as much at fault as you are. Heck, I even promised to protect the sons of DuCaine. Lot of good I've done, keeping my word." He said the last part sarcastically gaining a snort from both Wildwing and Nosedive.

"Don't even go there man." Nosedive said, looking at the tan mallard. "Seriously, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead and Ruben would probably still be in Wildwing's body." Orian and Calivan gave him a shocked look as Mallory jabbed Nosedive in the side.

"Don't forget Duke, he did a lot too. Kazar too." She said quietly. 

"Yeah they did." Wildwing admitted. "You all did."

"Hang on a minute. We're lost. Ruben? As in Ruben McCoy?" Calivan asked. The four ducks nodded, then proceeded to explain everything that had been going on over the past year.

o.o

Dragaunus frowned as he entered what had been the main deck of the Raptor, but was now a mess of wire and shrapnel.

"Siege!" he roared angrily, looking around for the fat saurian. "Where are you?"

"Over here." Came the dark growl. Siege stepped out from behind a pile of broken Hunter drones and glared at his leader. "What do you want?" he spat.

"It is time. Have you prepared yourself?" Dragaunus asked tempermentally.

"What? Did you think I was just sitting here this whole time? Of course I'm ready. I want to finish those ducks off once and for all." Siege answered, tossing the frail paged book to Dragaunus. The taller saurian caught it easily and regarded his only lackey coolly.

"For once, we agree." He purred, turning away. "I have found the place where the last battle shall be fought. We will use the powers of old to get us there." He stated.

"Where are we going?" Siege asked, following. Dragaunus turned to grin evilly at him.

"There is a place on this planet that will be of great use to us. The stupid humans never tore it down." He said. Siege glared at him angrily.

"Where?" he nearly roared.

"In Germany. Years ago they had camps not much unlike our own that we kept on Puckworld. Save, whoever was behind it had a more ingenious way of dealing with their prisoners." There was a sickening gleam in Dragaunus' eyes. "We shall fight them there. The Ancient Dragon has told me that the youngest DuCaine will not be able to handle it." Siege snorted.

"We'd be better off in the mines. He gets claustrophobic down there. Remember?" Dragaunus glared.

"No mine will ever strike as much terror as this camp will. Now come. We must prepare our battle ground." With that, he opened the book and recited a few incantations. A wind swirled around the two saurians and they disappeared, leaving behind a destroyed ship.

To Be Continued…


	4. Untitled... basically The Return...^-^

Grin yawned as he sat in a chair in the infirmary, Tanya checking up on Duke for the umpteenth time that night. The guardians of Dimensional Limbo were asleep on Kazar, Chameleon curled up in Calivan's arms. The child had taken an immediate liking to the green scaled guardian, and after Nosedive had left that afternoon to rest, Chameleon stayed with Calivan and played till the two fell asleep. The two guardians had been with them in the Pond for a couple of days now, and in the time they'd been there, Duke hadn't changed for worse or better. Prayer was now well known to the team, Phil even joining with them in concern for one of his players. He'd canceled all publicity stunts and seemed rather quiet around them. It was clear that he was afraid he was going to loose them.

Grin shook his head. Over the years that they had known Phil, the human had changed completely from being money oriented to team oriented. Anytime they had trouble, they could count on him to make up excuses to the press and cancel any plans they had in order for them to recuperate. He'd become a little more professional about getting them good deals, which was good. No more hints at 'Bird Watchers Weekly'. Grin smirked as he recalled the last time Phil had mentioned the magazine to them. It had been a few weeks after Kazar had joined them and Nosedive was still regaining his memories, having been given amnesia from a saurian attack in which Kazar was being controlled and used against them. 

Phil had confronted Wildwing and asked if the team would 'please do this one shoot for 'Bird Watchers Weekly', it would bring in lots of dough'. Nosedive had given the human an odd look and then cringed.

"A magazine for people who stare at us?" Grin remembered the teen asking. "Geez, wouldn't it bother you if you walked around outside and these people just walked around following you with binoculars and those little duck call things? Well, for you it would be a human call but still…" suffice to say, they never did that publicity stunt. Mallory had even refused to go to the mall for a week thanks to having recurring dreams about humans stalking her with duck calls. Nosedive tried to joke at her about it, only to find himself being chased by an angry red head. Duke had laughed for hours about that. Duke…

Grin looked back at his friend and frowned. Tanya was working on the computer on the medicom bed and shaking her head. Still no change. Nothing. Why was this happening? Why did it happen to Duke? The sound of the infirmary doors opening caused Grin to look away from the ex-thief to see Wildwing walking in. He nodded at Grin before stopping and kneeling by Kazar. The dragon awoke with a large yawn and blinked dully at the white mallard, listening sleepily as Wildwing whispered something to him softly. Kazar nodded his large head slowly, and shifted causing the two guardians to awake. Wildwing walked away as the dragon rumbled something to the two softly. They nodded and stood, Calivan still holding a sleeping Chameleon, then together they left.

"Where did you send them?" Grin asked as Wildwing neared him.

"Generator room. It would be better if they slept down there, they'd actually get some rest." Wildwing explained. "I remembered Kazar telling me once that the temperature up here was rather cold for him and Chameleon." He shrugged. "They need to be at their best."

"I agree." Grin nodded, standing and stretching. "Would it be too much to ask if I may go rest as well?" he asked. Wildwing gave him a friendly smile. 

"I was about to suggest that you do that." He said. He looked over at Tanya. "Has she been here all day?" he asked. Grin nodded.

"Yes. She was here when Mallory and I switched off at six this morning." At the frown on Wildwing's face he cleared his throat. "I will be going now." He rumbled. Wildwing gave him a vague nod, then waited for the sound of the door opening and closing. Then he walked over to Duke's bed, where Tanya was looking over a chart wearily. He waited a few moments, then cleared his throat when she didn't notice him. She jumped slightly and gave him a startled look.

"Don't sneak up on me!" she exclaimed in exasperation. Wildwing frowned at her.

"I didn't." he said. She merely sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry." She muttered. "I'm just…"

"Worried?" he asked. She nodded and he put an arm around her, then hugged her close. "We all are." He said softly. She merely nodded slowly, enjoying the embrace and returning it with a hug of her own. "You need to get some rest." He told her after a few minutes. Tanya was quiet, and he smiled. "Should I just put you on the other bed?" he asked jokingly. She gave a weary sigh.

"Right now, I don't think I'd really care." She muttered to him. He looked at her for a moment, then nodded and lifted her up in his arms, carrying her over to the now unoccupied bed next to Duke. Taking a blanket and covering her with it, he smiled down at her and touched the side of her face with the back of his hand softly. 

"I'll wake you if anything changes." He told her quietly. She nodded.

"If you can." She yawned, and then was asleep. Wildwing watched her for a moment, kissed her forehead, then turned and looked at Duke. His expression changed and he kneeled by his teammates bed.

"Duke, don't you dare leave us." He whispered softly. "You've got to help me, remember?" he watched the older mallards face and sighed. There was nothing but the rising and falling of a bandaged chest. Sitting down on the floor, Wildwing rested his forehead on the edge of Duke's bed in frustration. 'Father, Great King,' he prayed quietly, 'Please. Don't let him die! Bring him back to us.'

The infirmary door opened with a swish noise, causing Wildwing to look up and frown.

"You're supposed to be resting Nosedive." He called softly to the teen who walked over in a pair of green plaid pajama bottoms and a hockey jersey. One of Wildwing's old ones. His socked feet made no noise as he walked over, running a hand over his messy hair to keep it down.

"Yeah, well…" he shrugged and sat down in front of his brother. "Everyone else has had their chance to be in here and fuss at Duke. Just kinda' figured, you know, hey. Why not get in on the act, ya know?" he smiled weakly, then sighed. "Mallory feels really bad about what happened." He said suddenly, looking down at the floor dully. "Canard said he was okay, that he knew he couldn't really do anything… which he couldn't… but Mal can't, won't, see it that way." He mumbled. "And I miss having Duke around to mess with my head." Wildwing gave a weak snicker and ruffled the blondes already sleep tossed hair.

"You mean like that?" he asked softly. Nosedive gave him a playful agitated look.

"No." he said, with a shake of his head. "Not like that."

"Like this." Came a weary voice. A dark feathered hand reached down and pointed a finger at Nosedive's forehead. "Bang. You're dead." Nosedive and Wildwing both stared at the hand in shock as it moved back to the bed and they stood, Duke regarding them sleepily and chuckling deeply.

"Duke!" they exclaimed as one happily. He nodded at them, grinning weakly.

"Hey. What'd I miss?" he asked.

"Only the end of the world." Wildwing snickered as Nosedive reached down and gave the dark feathered mallard a hug.

"Don't scare me like that!" Nosedive exclaimed, Duke hugging him back.

"Sorry. But it had to be done."

"Which part, the playing with Nosedive's head or the sleeping for almost a week?" Wildwing asked, opening his com.

"Both." Was the weary answer, Nosedive releasing Duke from the hug and then sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Glad to have you back… one eye." The teen grinned as Wildwing informed the rest of the team that Duke was finally awake. Then he turned to Tanya. He shook her softly, waking her. She sat up and smiled brightly.

"Duke! You're awake!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. And so are you. You had me worried Tanya. I thought you'd never come out of it!" Duke grinned. She put her hands on her hips and made a face as Wildwing and Nosedive laughed. Duke merely looked at Nosedive and poked the teen in the side as the door opened and the rest of the team ran in, Kazar and the guardians following with a now awake Chameleon riding on Kazar's back. "Mop top." Duke told the teen, causing Nosedive to give a sarcastic gasp and put a hand on his chest.

"You hurt me man!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Duke!" cheered Chameleon, leaping off of Kazar and then running over and climbing up onto the bed and hugging the dark feathered mallard. "You're okay!!"

"Yep." Was Duke's reply. He nodded when he saw Mallory, the red head standing off to the side quietly. "How about you Mal? Siege tossed you pretty hard." She nodded quietly, swallowing to keep back tears. He smiled at her comfortingly. "This wasn't your fault kid. Don't worry about it." He said softly, gaining a nod from Nosedive in agreement. Mallory looked at them, then smiled and came over and gave the ex-thief a hug.

"I'm so glad to see you're alright." She told him with a small laugh. She released him, then slapped his arm. "Don't you dare do that again." She growled jokingly. Duke snickered.

"Yes mother." He told her, cringing when she lifted her hand, then shaking his head when she grinned and let it down slowly and walked away. Grin placed his hands together and bowed.

"It is good to finally see you awake my friend." He rumbled. Duke nodded to him, then lifted a hand so Canard could shake it.

"Looks like you pulled off another stunt old man." He grinned, getting a glare from Duke.

"I am not old. I'm just getting into my prime." The older mallard said, slightly miffed. "Besides I've had worse." He claimed. Nosedive gave him a look, Mallory standing beside him with an arm around his shoulders.

"What could have been worse than getting shot a point blank?" he asked.

"Being shot at point blank and then falling off and three story building."

"Ouch." Wildwing said with a wince. "Yeah, that would be painful."

"You never did anything like that!" Chameleon claimed. Then he stopped, cocking his head to the side as he sat up on the opposite side of the bed Nosedive was on. "Did you?" he asked.

"Never be a thief. It's dangerous and there are no health benefits." Kazar snickered.

"Same for poachers." He rumbled. He nodded at Duke. "Glad to have you with us still though." He stated. Duke nodded, then looked at Calivan and Orian in confusion.

"Who are you guys?" he asked. Wildwing put a hand on his shoulder.

"Allow me to introduce the guardians of Dimensional Limbo." Calivan waved.

"Hi." He grinned toothily. Duke merely looked around in confusion.

"Okay, you're going to explain what's been going on since I got knocked out of it." He told them. Nosedive shook his head and waved a hand in the air.

"Nah. It's all really boring. No fighting at all."

"Still, I wanna' know. Otherwise I have this big gap that makes absolutely no sense." Tanya nodded, standing and tossing the blanket Wildwing had covered her with back onto the bed.

"How about, you guys start telling him everything, and I'll get some food." She offered.

"I'll help." Mallory said.

"That sounds good to me. I'm starved!" Duke told them, putting his hands behind his head. As the two ladies left he looked at the guys. "Alright… tell away!"

O.O

Concentration camps. During the time of World War II, these camps were where mostly Jews were sent. It was not pretty. All of Earth still felt the sting of the crimes committed here, and some could still hear the cries of those trapped in these places of…

They can only be described as Hell. The people trapped in the concentration camps were beaten and abused, experimented on and tortured to death. They were led like lambs to the slaughterhouse with no clue as to what was going to happen. None of them expected anyone to be so cruel as to do what had been done in these camps.

The Concentration camps and their memories horrified and disgusted many, but drew Dragaunus to it. He took a sickening fascination to it all, as he himself was a 'Hitler' all his own to the people of Puckworld.

He'd found what was left of one of these camps; out in the deep forests of what he said was Munich Germany, and was now walking through it, Siege following and grinning in twisted glee.

"Makes me feel like we're back on Puckworld." He said gleefully.

"Very true." Dragaunus agreed, running his hands against the charred cement walls. He smirked. "Have you done as I ordered?" he asked.

"Yes sir. The maze is set up, just like you told me and the humans are keeping as far away as physically possible." Siege said proudly, banging a fist to his chest. Dragaunus rolled his eyes, his back to the larger saurian.

"Then I suppose we should send a calling card to the Ducks then." He said calmly, turning away.

"How are we going to do that?"

"Must you always ask such stupid questions?"

"I'm the lackey remember? I can't read your mind." Siege growled. Dragaunus turned and glared at him, smoke billowing from his nostrils.

"Fine then. Leave that to me." He purred in anger and annoyance. Siege merely glared at him, then turned away. He had better things to do than goof around with an idiot in a staring contest…

o.o

One peaceful night. The first one in about a week. It was good to actually relax again, and with Duke recovering quickly it was easier to do so. The dark feathered mallard was already up and walking around, a miracle beyond itself.

Wildwing lay on his bed, his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. He'd overslept. Hunh. Not something that happened often. Nosedive would probably say something about it later, but at least they hadn't had an early practice scheduled this morning. In fact… he looked at his clock. He had twenty minutes before he was late.

He sat up and went to hop in the shower, stopping momentarily to look at a small velvet box sitting on the edge of his dresser. He picked it up, then set it down with a set look on his face. After he'd showered and dressed he headed to his brothers room, only to find Nosedive walking down the hall towards him halfway.

"You overslept!!" the teen grinned. Wildwing made a face and reached out to ruffle Nosedive's hair, only to frown when Nosedive leapt out of the way, jeering playfully at his older brother. "Ah, you missed! You missed!"

"Alright then. Have it your way." Wildwing grinned as Nosedive did a little dance at his 'victory' of dodging his brother. "Come here!" with that Wildwing leapt at Nosedive, grabbing the teen in a headlock and giving him a nuggie.

"AH! NO! NOT A NUGGIE!! HELP!!! HELP!!! I'M BEING ABRUISED!! AH!!! Alright mister! You asked for it!" with that he lashed out and began tickling Wildwing, the white mallard laughing and releasing his hold on his brother, only to cry out as the attack didn't stop. 

"Ah! No!" he cried, trying to get away as Nosedive 'attacked' relentlessly.

"PAYBACK!!" Nosedive cried out cheerfully. With a battle cry, he leapt at Wildwing, causing the two to come crashing to the floor with a thud and yelps of pain, followed immediately by laughter.

"What's going on out here?" Canard asked, walking onto the hall with Chameleon following.

"Tickle fight!!" the child cheered, then running over and jumping onto the two brothers with a battle cry. The two cried out, then turned their attack onto the child with Canard laughing at them.

"I don't know if you guys have noticed? But we've got practice in five minutes." He said after a moment. The three stopped with a collective 'Aw'.

"Party pooper." Nosedive muttered, sticking out his tongue and standing. Chameleon giggled and watched as the two stretched a little.

"Can I come watch?" he asked.

"Sure. We'll be out on the ice though." Wildwing said as he and Nosedive started walking away. Chameleon followed and made a face.

"Yuck. I'll stay with Kazar and watch for Draggy bottom." He stated. Nosedive snorted and snickered as Canard covered his face with a hand.

"Draggy bottom?" Wildwing asked. Chameleon grinned.

"Yeah! Kazar made it up!" he claimed.

"I'll have to remember that one." Nosedive grinned mischievously as he and Wildwing stood, Chameleon looking up at them as he sat on the floor.

"Nosedive?" the child asked suddenly. The teen looked at him.

" 'Sup?"

"Are we ever gonna' stop Dragaunus?" there was a pause and Wildwing smiled softly.

"One day. Why do you ask?"

"Kazar said I could go home with him… and I want to. I like the stories he keeps telling me, and it might be fun to pretend to be a dragon." He looked at Nosedive sadly. "Puckworld sounds too cold. I don't like cold." Nosedive gave him a weak smile and kneeled down in front of him.

"Hey, you never know. You might like Kazar's home planet! And I'll come visit you, you know that!" he put a hand on the child's head. "But right now, let's not worry about stuff like that, okay? It'll make your head hurt." He grinned as Chameleon made a face.

"No it won't!"

"Well, it does me. Come on." He lifted Chameleon up onto his shoulders and stood. "I'll carry you to the living room, kay?"

"Okay!" Chameleon looked at Wildwing with excitement. "Can we race?" he asked.

"Sure!" Wildwing nodded. "Canard, wanna' join us?" he asked. Canard grinned, mischief sparking in his eyes.

"Sure." He said. "Just try to keep up!" with that he turned and took off down the hall, Nosedive and Wildwing shouting in unfairness and following causing Chameleon to squeal in excitement. The conversation that had just taken place was pushed out of all fours minds.

^-^

"Take that Nosedive! Hah!" Duke was grinning as he skated on the ice, even though he should have been sitting out. Nosedive snickered from his place of sitting on the ice, Duke having knocked him down.

"Man, for a guy who just woke up from a coma, you sure do have a lot of energy." He exclaimed, accepting the hand up that Canard offered him.

"I wasn't in a coma! I was just taking an extremely long nap!" Duke exclaimed, hitting the puck at Wildwing and frowning when the white mallard caught it easily. "However it did absolutely nothing for my slap shot." He muttered. Mallory snickered as she skated past him.

"HEY GUYS!! STOP FOR A MOMENT!!" Tanya called suddenly, getting everyone's attention as a pale Phil ran in from the locker room.

"GUYS!! TURN ON THE NEWS!!" he called to them, breathing hard. "IT'S DRAGAUNUS!!"

"WHAT?!?" was the cry as Tanya punched something on her com. The scoreboard changed, the screens changing from the team logo to Dragaunus' wickedly grinning face.

"I repeat." He purred. "As you see I have four humans behind me…" he moved showing one teen, a five-year-old, a middle-aged man, and a young woman hanging from their wrists by rusted chains from the ceiling. Where they were was unknown, but the wall behind them was cement gray and scorched as if from fire. The humans looked to be alright, just unconscious, save for the long scratch on the child's face. "I'd give them maybe twenty-four hours before my friend and I devour them. However, if you want these humans to survive the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim will come to the rescue. I am in Munich Germany. The people there will be able to direct you to me DuCaine's." The grin widened and smoke came from his nostrils. "I'm hoping you'll be too late. I am quite famished…" with that the transmission ended and a startled reporter appeared on screen, his mouth hanging open in shock. Then he blinked and closed his mouth.

"I don't quite understand what's happening, but if you're just tuning in folks, that lizard who calls himself Dragaunus has captured four people. One a Mrs. Taniya Clearwater from Los Angeles California, a Mr. William Dickens from London England, Fifteen-year-old Robert Martin from Munich Germany, and five-year-old Elizabeth Micheals from Sidney Australia. Dragaunus has made it clear that he wants the hockey team the Mighty Ducks to come, and only this famous NHL hockey team. Germany has already sent in their own forces, half of which has been destroyed. Many of our own men have been sent in, with horrible results. We have not been sent the number of lives lots as of yet, but from what we've heard… It's too many to let this creature continue and live. Mighty Ducks, if you're watching this, whatever war you have going between this monster… this one reporter would really appreciate it if you left the human race out of it!" the screen went black and the logo returned. Silence filled the Pond for a moment, Calivan and Orian running in looking rather worried as they looked at the team. There was no movement for a moment, then…

"To the Aerowing team." Wildwing said, his voice deathly calm. "This is going to end today." As they walked into… actually more like stalked into the locker room, Phil grabbed Wildwing's arm.

"You mind if I make a statement to the press while you guys head out?" he asked quickly. Wildwing glared at him.

"You do what you want Phil. Right now I'm more concerned with stopping Dragaunus." With that Wildwing left, white flame dancing off his body as a physical show of his anger. Phil watched the tall mallard go, then looked at Orian and Calivan.

"Watch over them." He stated before heading away. The two guardians nodded and followed the team. Kazar would meet them at the Aerowing, Chameleon choosing to stay behind.

It was the beginning of the end. But for which side?

To Be Continued…

Hmm. This took a while. Thanks for the wait, however I'm betting that this is starting to bore all of you. Sorry about that. My reason for taking so long…. Well, school is evil and I've been sick. Migraines do nothing to help when it comes to writing and for a while I could have sworn I had nothing for ya'll. But when I checked my story out again I found that I had more than I'd expected, which made me very happy. I haven't gotten a lot of reviews for this story, I keep forgetting that I'm not writing for the reviews.^-^' Thanks to all those who have given reviews and Thanks a billion to Kaeera and Akima. You two have been the biggest help. I really appreciate all you two have done to help me out. More is coming, there is no way I will not finish this. I'm enjoying myself way too much to just quit in the middle of it all. ^-^ Once again, sorry for the wait but thank you so much for your patience.

I'm still not at a hundred percent, so the next chapter will take a while. But at least I'm having coherent thoughts again, that's all I got to type. :)

Oh yeah. Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. Kazar and the guardians belong to me and I belong to the Great King, so therefore, He owns my characters too ^_^. Just FYI…^-^


	5. Here we Stand

**__**

Here we Stand. We will finish this…

He could feel his brothers fury rising, could 'hear' the one thought screaming in his brothers mind. Find Dragaunus, get rid of him no matter what the cost may be. Don't send him to Dimensional Limbo… Kill that sorry excuse for a walking suitcase.

Nosedive looked at his brother uneasily, the rest of the team busying themselves for the upcoming battle. Orian and Calivan were now brandishing some very sharp looking swords, Duke inspecting one at the moment. The eldest mallard commenting on the craftsmanship. Orian and Calivan could only grin. Their swords were given to them by the Great King Himself. Of course the swords would be perfect.

Bro? thank goodness for telepathy, something the guardians had failed to mention about DuCaine siblings. Or maybe they hadn't known about it…

I'm busy Nosedive… was the dark reply. Nosedive merely sat back in his chair and stared out the window in front of him.

I'm not gonna' help you kill anybody. I'm not going to become like the saurians.

Tension left his brothers arms, the white mallards fingers loosening from the tight grip they'd held on the controls.

But he deserves it Nosedive. Nosedive continued to look forward.

I don't think its our job to kill him though bro. I mean, why else would Orian and Calivan be here?

To help us. I prayed for help…

Then maybe you should pray for wisdom too. the answer surprised them both, Nosedive looked down at the controls in front of him, trying to figure out just where the sentence had just come from. Yes he'd just said it, but… I mean…

I know what you mean Nosedive. I understand.

You do? Well explain, I just confused myself. Nosedive looked at his brother, the white mallard snickering.

"You would." Wildwing told him aloud.

"So I've got mental problems, so sue me!" Nosedive exclaimed with a grin, tossing his hands into the air.

"You don't have to prove it though!"

"Let it be known that I can feel the love." Nosedive stated sarcastically, folding his arms over his chest and slouching down in his chair. "So you gonna tell me what you figured out?" he asked.

"I need a long talk with the Great King." Wildwing stated quietly, his eyes staring forwards. Nosedive quieted.

Don't we all… he replied. Behind them the others watched quietly. What an odd conversation that was…

O.o

Concentration Camp. Munich, Germany.

At one time in history it had been a place of nightmares. After the war however it was turned into a museum where people went to learn about the crimes committed so that it would never happen again. Yes, knowledge is power, and the knowledge of what happened and how horrible it actually was could keep people from repeating history. However, when you're from an entirely different planet where nightmares are still fresh and your enemy is the cause of these nightmares, knowledge could be terrorizing. Especially when your worst nightmare is standing before you in the form of an old camp, now shaped like a huge ghostly building, whose insides had been change by powerful and evil magic.

Walking inside had been gut wrenching. Kazar, Orian, and Calivan had all been disgusted by Dragaunus' twisted love of this place… however none of them realized the turmoil it put the ducks through as they continued down damp halls with scorch marks on many of the walls. For Duke it was the memory of watching starving ducks move around like zombies back on Puckworld. Watching many fight each other for food, others passing out or dying from the need of food or medical treatment. Watching his people suffer… wanting to do something, anything…

For Mallory, who'd never been in a camp, it was bone chilling. People had been tortured here, had actually survived this place! But then… so many hadn't. So many had died… just like back home…

For Tanya it was basically the same as Mallory, as well as Grin. They had never been to the camps. She and Grin had made it to the resistance early fortunately. Still tales of what had happened in the camps had reached them, and it was those nightmarish tales that had kept them all awake at night and resurfaced now.

Canard was one that kept his emotions to himself, but they could tell he was disgusted. He'd been in a camp once, not for long though. His father had been in the military for as long as Canard could remember, and it was a good thing too. Because of that he had been rescued early, but memories of his few days there were not good. They were something he wished he could forget, but never would. No one ever would…

Wildwing and Nosedive. For the two who'd spent nearly two years in the camps, this was Hell brought back at full force. Wildwing's memories of helping his classmates die, of watching others kill themselves while they worked in mines or on buildings for the saurians, resurfaced as clear as if it had all happened yesterday. Fear tried to eat away at him, but he'd learned to deal with these images. His brother was still with him, and as far he was concerned, Nosedive always would be. 

Nosedive on the other hand was starting to become claustrophobic, and the fact that they were all walking in a line wasn't helping any. Nightmarish memories resurfaced at full force, and suddenly he wasn't walking with the team. He was in between two ducks he didn't know, headed for the mines. The mines… Oh stars not the mines! No, no they weren't headed towards the mines… The teen closed his eyes and stopped moving, his body shaking violently as he tried to start breathing again. When had he stopped? No, he didn't want to go back to the bunks… those ducks… Donovan wasn't there anymore… Couldn't help him…

Hands grabbed his arms and he cried out, tearing out of the grasp and slamming into the wall, falling to the floor and sitting there. His eyes were opened, but he couldn't see. Where was he? The camps… no, not the camps… WILDWING!!!

o.o

"Nosedive, why are you stopping?" Canard's voice made him turn, and give his younger brother an odd look when he saw the teen standing in the middle of the hall with his eyes shut tight.

"Nosedive?" Wildwing asked. No answer. Nosedive was starting to hyperventilate and the others were becoming worried.

"Snap out of it Nosedive!" Mallory cried.

"Nosedive!" Wildwing cried as Canard grabbed the teens arms to shake him out of it. Suddenly Nosedive cried out, tearing away from the tan mallard and falling backwards, slamming into the wall and then sliding down to where he was sitting on the floor, staring out at nothing as he seemed to try and catch his breath. Wildwing suddenly cried out and grabbed his head, falling to his knees causing Tanya and Duke to rush to his side.

"What's happening?" Duke asked.

"He's panicked." Wildwing hissed, rubbing his temples. "He just called for me…"

"I didn't hear anything! What are you talking… WHOA!!" Calivan had to dodge a well-aimed blast coming from the teen on the floor. Nosedive took aim again.

"Holy cripes! He thinks we're saurians!!" Orian yelped as he took to the air dodging another blast, the white flames dancing off of Nosedive's body as he began to stand, his breathing still erratic.

"NOSEDIVE STOP!!" Wildwing yelled. Nosedive gave no indication of hearing his brother and aimed his hand for Kazar, silver light shining from his eyes. Canard did the only thing he could think of and checked Nosedive into the wall, causing the blast to hit the opposite wall and disappear. Now Nosedive was screaming in panic for Canard to get off of him.

"CALM DOWN NOSEDIVE!! IT'S JUST…" Canard didn't get to finish, a grunt coming from him as he was flung backwards, the flames from Nosedive pushing outwards and flinging the others back as well.

"NOSEDIVE STOP!!" Wildwing yelled again as he tried to stand against his brother. After nearly being pushed down and hearing his teammates cries of pain he stopped, calling upon his own power to protect them from his brother. Nosedive was staring right at him, his blonde hair flying and the flames flying from his body. His face was impassive and his eyes nightmarish. Silver was all Wildwing could see, and yet… and yet he could sense the panic and fear. Flames exploded from Wildwing's body, allowing the others to stand with groans. For a moment it was a stand still between the two. NOSEDIVE STOP!! IT'S JUST US!!

"Wing…" both attacks stopped at once, the silver leaving Nosedive's eyes as he blinked in bewilderment. He was panting as he looked around, and then it stopped. As Nosedive fell into unconsciousness Wildwing ran over and caught him. They hadn't even met up with the Saurians and already they were fighting battles…

O.O

Dragaunus chuckled, watching the screen in front of him that showed Wildwing holding his brother, the others coming over with worry and caution. So the Great Dragon had been right. The youngest DuCaine could *not* handle the camp. He grinned and turned to Siege.

"If this keeps up, Nosedive will finish off his teammates for us!" he exclaimed gleefully.

"Well where's the fun in that?" Siege spat, miffed as he sharpened a dagger. The four humans watched the two in fear, the youngest sobbing quietly as the teen tried to comfort her, his English thick with a German accent. "I'd rather hunt them down myself." The larger saurian muttered.

"You may get that chance. If not, I'll release the humans into the maze and you can hunt them through that. How does that sound?" Dragaunus asked with a wave of his clawed hand. The humans paled and the teen glared at him.

"You won't get away with this!" he shouted defiantly. Dragaunus smirked at him.

"Really?" he asked. He looked at the screen. "I think I will." He purred, looking down at newly sharpened claws. "Those foul feathered weaklings have no idea what I have in store for them."

O.O

Wildwing turned to look at Grin, the gentle giant keeping a hand on Kazar's shoulder blade as Nosedive lay on the dragons back. The teen was still unconscious, laying on his stomach with his head turned facing the group so that he would see them when he awoke, instead of the walls.

"What do you think happened?" Canard asked softly, gaining Wildwing's attention.

"He panicked." Wildwing answered softly, looking back at the rest of his team. Calivan and Orian were guarding the rear, Calivan draping his sword across his shoulders and allowing one hand to fall at his side. How he kept the sword from cutting himself was a mystery. Maybe it was those scales of his, who knew? "Nosedive probably had it worse than any of us in the camps. That and the mines…" he shook his head. "I remember when they brought him to my camp, he wouldn't sleep at first. Kept saying he was afraid of the others. Afraid they'd…" he didn't continue and Canard frowned.

"Maybe we should send him back outside." He commented softly. "What if he…"

"No, I don't think he will." Wildwing sighed. "I hope he won't. But we need him. Remember what Orian and Calivan said. When it comes down to the final battle between us and Dragaunus, Nosedive will have to be there." He said. Canard nodded and looked back at the teen worriedly.

"Do you think Dragaunus planned this?" he asked. Wildwing nodded, a dark look on his face and showing through the mask, its red eyes glowing angrily.

"He would." He growled. Kazar suddenly stopped, snorting and suddenly growling in disgust.

"What is it?" Duke asked as the whole group halted and looked at the dragon.

"I smell Dragaunus." The dragon growled.

"Yeah, he does stink pretty bad doesn't he?" Calivan asked, a grin on his face.

"His stench is all over this place Kazar." Orian stated darkly. "We'll probably be stuck with his smell even after we get out of here."

"Ugh. I'm going to shower for a week after this." Mallory muttered, gaining a chuckle from Calivan.

"I'm getting seriously bad vibes about all of this." Grin reported, Tanya shuddering.

"I have to agree with him." She told them softly. "I don't like this place one bit."

"Shouldn't we have come to a turn somewhere by now?" Canard asked. Wildwing frowned, then looked at the walls, the eyes of the mask changing. Suddenly they widened in surprise.

"A maze! He's made this place into a huge maze!" he exclaimed.

"Is that possible?" Mallory asked, the others starting with surprise, Calivan and Orian looking at each other in confusion.

"Why would he turn this place into a maze?" Kazar muttered.

"How did he do this though?" Canard repeated Mallory's question.

"The Enemy." Said Orian.

"He's returned to 'The Ancient Ways'. At least that's what the saurians called it." Calivan said, his expression changing immediately to a dark one. "They call The Enemy the 'Great Dragon'." He looked at Wildwing. "You must watch yourself. The rules of battle have changed drastically." Canard frowned and looked to his friend.

"Still, how do we get through this thing?" he asked. 

"I don't know." Wildwing admitted. "This hallway just seems to go on forever." He admitted. "It doesn't lead into the maze at all."

"How about explosive pucks?" Mallory offered.

"Do we really want to go in there though?" Duke asked. Wildwing nodded.

"It's like any other maze Duke. The prize is at the center." He told them. "We've got to get there and free those people and take out Dragaunus and Siege."

"Explosive pucks." Mallory grinned. Wildwing nodded and motioned for the group to back away from the wall and to pull out their puck launchers, which they did. 

"Ready? FIRE!" they let loose a barrage of pucks, then stopped after a moment to let the dust clear… only to find that nothing had happened. The ducks stared in surprise as Calivan cocked his head to one side.

"That went well." He muttered.

"Quite." Kazar purred darkly. Wildwing frowned at them gaining quick silence as white flames began dancing off his body. He pointed the palm of his hands at the wall and with a cry, he let loose a large blast of bright light. He stopped after a moment and frowned. A large burn mark was now on the wall, a squealing noise coming from somewhere in the distance as if a machine or something were screaming in pain. Canard frowned.

"Guess we're meant to follow this path to the end of it." Orian said, tapping the hilt of his sword.

"No. It just circles the whole maze. There's not even an ex…it…" Wildwing paused and turned, looking back the way they came. "Stars…" he mummered, the others looking and giving startled cries.

"What the puck!" Mallory cried. Right behind Kazar there was a wall that hadn't been there before, as if they were now at a dead end.

"But that's impossible!" Canard cried as Calivan frowned.

"No, it's chaotic." Orian stated as Grin pressed against the wall, grunting as he did so. It wasn't a hologram.

"It's the way of the Enemy. Chaos is the dark ones favorite pastime." Calivan told them. "We'll be dealing with this as we continue on." He told them.

"You mean the maze will change?" Mallory asked, panic in her eyes. Calivan nodded darkly.

"Yes. And it will continue to change until we find Dragaunus and put an end to him. He is the one doing this. The Enemy is controlling it. When we stop Dragaunus, all of this will go back to normal."

"So, this place wasn't a camp to begin with?" Tanya asked. Calivan shook his head.

"No. It was. Hundreds of innocent people died in this place. The only reason it still exists is so that the public may be shown the horrors and learn from them, stop it from ever happening again. No one wants this part of history to ever be repeated again."

"You seem to know a lot about this place." Wildwing said. Calivan shook his head.

"The Great King wept when this happened." Was all the guardian said, Orian glaring at the far wall.

"We should stay close together." The blue scaled guardian told them. "We wouldn't want to get separated in here, especially with everything changing." Wildwing nodded.

"I agree. Come on everyone. Let's keep moving. Otherwise we might get boxed in." he said. With that the group began moving again, a sinking feeling settling in on them all.

O.O

_"HELP ME!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!" _

He was screaming these words as he sat in the darkness, curled in a ball. The hands that had been touching him were gone now, yet the fear remained. It was the fear that kept him from looking up, and it was the fear that caused him to sob and cry out for help. Once again arms wrapped around him, and he cried out, finally calling for his brother to help him. He was startled when the one holding him began rocking him back and forth, quietly shushing him and whispering soothing words to him. As he began to calm, he dared to look up and found himself staring at a mallard that looked like Wildwing, but was not his brother. He pulled away fearfully.

"Who… who are you? Where's Wildwing? Where am I?" he asked, beginning to look around. He was wearing a white robe, much like the one the duck before him was wearing. Darkness surrounded him, yet somewhere there was a light, keeping the darkness at bay.

"Nosedive, calm down. You're safe." The strange mallard said soothingly. Nosedive started, then stared at him.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" he asked backing away till he suddenly felt a type of wall. "And where the heck am I?" he cried out fearfully. The mallard stood and came over to him, then kneeled beside him and brushed back a few loose strands of blonde hair.

"Stars…" the mallard whispered softly. "You favor your mother so much Nosedive." Nosedive stared at him, startled.

"My… my mom?" he asked quietly. The mallard before him smiled almost wishfully.

"You probably don't remember her do you?" he asked. "You were so young when it happened."

"No, I remember her… a-a little…" Nosedive trailed off as a smile that was as familiar as the one he got from Wildwing everyday came from the mallard. "Dad?" he whispered breathlessly. The mallard nodded, then grunted as Nosedive dived into his arms, sobbing. It was a long while till Terry managed to calm his youngest son, still, neither of them really wanted to end the embrace. They sat in silence, holding each other till Terry cleared his throat and pulled away, causing Nosedive to look up at him questioningly.

"Nosedive…" Terry stopped and shook his head as the younger blonde mallard watched him. "I'm so sorry for all the things that have gone wrong in your life. I really wish I could have been there for you and your brother. But… the Great King does not do anything without reason." His eyes grew serious and he regarded Nosedive calmly but with a sense of great importance. "These fears of yours, they are work of the enemy to keep you from accomplishing any goals. You're older now, and you're stronger." He smiled suddenly. "And you are never alone. Remember that. You don't need Donovan to protect you anymore, you've got someone much more powerful watching over you. And I don't mean your brother." He stated. Nosedive gave him a confused look.

"Dad?" he asked. Terry shook his head, then smiled wistfully and placed a hand on top of his youngest sons head.

"Remember promises made in the past, and never forget that the Great King keeps His promises always. You are His, now and forever. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Fight in His name, and none can stand in your way." He said softly, lovingly. "Your mother and I are watching son." He added quietly before kissing Nosedive on the forehead lovingly. "And when your time comes, we'll be waiting for you and Wildwing on the other side." He stood, then offered a hand to help the blonde mallard up. Nosedive took the hand gratefully, then looked at his father longingly.

"I wish… so hard…" his voice was shaky, his throat becoming tight. He swallowed and tried to calm himself. "I wish I could remember what you were like." He whispered, tears forming in his eyes. A chuckle from his father made him look up questioningly.

"You know what I'm like!" Terry grinned, ruffling the younger mallards hair lovingly. "You see me in your brother, and he sees me in you!" he exclaimed. "Where do you think you guys got all those pranks from, eh?" he asked mischievously with a wink. He calmed and pulled Nosedive into an embrace that the younger wished wouldn't end. "Aw Nosedive. Don't worry, you know me! Just remember, I love you. You're my son and you will always be my son." He pushed Nosedive away, his hands staying on the blondes shoulders as he looked into his sons eyes. "Remember Nosedive. I'm proud of you. Both of you. The Great King blessed me and your mother with two wonderfully talented boys, and even though I was only with you for a little while, it was one of the happiest times in my life. I wish things had been different, we both do. No parent wishes to watch their children grow up from afar." He smiled softly. "But you two turned out real good, and I know you're going to give that saurian a run for his money." He grinned, the mischief returning once more as he mussed up Nosedive's hair. "Don't ever loose that joy of yours Nosedive." He said suddenly, moving away. Nosedive reached for him, his legs unwilling to move.

"DAD! NO! Please…"

"I gotta' go big guy." Terry said, a sad smile on his face as he backed into the light. "I love you son. And be brave, everything will be alright as long as you remember the Great King." He promised. Then, with a wave goodbye, he was gone. Nosedive stood, staring into the now complete darkness for a long while. Then he fell to his knees fighting back tears. It took a while for him to calm, but when he did he looked upwards.

"I'm ready now." He called quietly. "And thanks… Dad." With that he closed his eyes and knew no more.

^-^

"Unnnh…" the group stopped when the groan came from the duck on Kazar's back.

"Dive?" Wildwing asked worriedly, walking over to Kazar and placing a hand on the dragons head as he looked at his brother in concern. Nosedive opened his eyes slowly, then put a hand to his head.

"Whoa. Man, I feel weird." He muttered.

"You feel weird? You slammed us into the floor!" Mallory exclaimed heatedly as the blonde sat up and looked around. He gave her a confused look.

"What?" he asked. "What are you talking about… and uh, where are we?" he asked.

"You freaked out." Canard said as the group came together. Nosedive looked at him for a moment, then sighed and looked down.

"Oh yeah…" he muttered. 

"You okay baby bro?" Wildwing asked in concern. Nosedive nodded slowly and rubbed the back of Kazar's head lovingly.

"Thanks for the ride buddy." He grinned, then he looked at Wildwing. "Can I get down?" he asked. Wildwing nodded and moved back a little so Kazar could kneel. Nosedive slid off the dragons back and looked around, the others watching him quietly and worriedly. He rubbed his arms as if chilled and looked back at Wildwing. "I hate this place." He muttered suddenly. He quieted as Wildwing wrapped his arms around him in a hug.

"It's going to be okay Dive. We just have to get to the center of this maze, stop Dragaunus and go home. Simple as that." Wildwing said softly. Nosedive snorted and snickered a little.

"Simple. Right. Like cleaning silly string out of the little pieces of Drake One."

"Yep." The brothers backed away and grinned at each other before both sighing and looking down the hall before them. It seemed to go only straight, with no turns at all, yet Wildwing knew better. Things would change, just as they had been. This he explained to Nosedive via their telepathic link. Serious looks were on their faces and they stood in silence as the rest of the team watched them curiously.

"Plan of action?" Duke asked after a long quiet moment. Nosedive turned and looked at him.

"You guys sure you couldn't blast the walls?" he asked suddenly. The group blinked at him in surprise.

"How… did you know about that?" Orian asked, startled. Wildwing turned as Nosedive thumbed at him.

"He told me." was his short reply. The group blinked at the two for a moment till Calivan cleared his throat.

"Um… yes." He said softly. "We are sure we can't blast the walls."

"Did you try climbing?" Nosedive asked. "What about flying?" at the shaking of the heads he looked back at Wildwing. "How about we try that? Otherwise we're just letting ol' Draggy lead us wherever he wants us to go."

"I dunno baby bro." Wildwing muttered, crossing an arm over his chest and rubbing his chin with the other hand in deep thought. Then he looked up and frowned. "Those walls do go pretty high." He muttered. He looked at Kazar, Orian and Calivan. "What do you guys think?" he asked. Calivan and Orian shared a look, shrugged, then looked at Kazar who merely shrugged back at them,

"Well, I'm game." Calivan said. "I don't know about those two." He grinned, thumbing at Orian and Kazar. Orian frowned.

"Whatever." He muttered at his friend. "I just think this stinks."

"The whole place stinks!"

"Yeah…" Mallory's voice cut the two bickering guardians short. "What is that smell?" she asked. The group sniffed the air and Duke shook his head, stiffening and putting a hand on the red heads shoulder.

"Trust me. You don't want to know." He told her. Nosedive fell back on his brother, the elder mallard putting a comforting hand on the blondes shoulder.

"What the heck is going on here?" he asked. "Duke… that smell…"

"Is from the past." Orian growled suddenly. "The enemy is toying with us." He said angrily, Calivan snorting and shaking his head.

"We must be near the ovens." He told them.

"Ovens?" Tanya asked.

"When the prisoners died, their bodies were burned in ovens. It left a horrible stench." Orian explained darkly. Nosedive opened his beak as if to ask something, then shut it quickly.

"Let's keep moving team." Wildwing said calmly, swallowing his growing fear.

"Want us to try flying then?" Kazar asked. Wildwing nodded, then frowned.

"Guess we'll wait here for you. " he muttered. Calivan merely grinned and gave him a mock salute before he and Orian took to the air, Kazar following with the sound of his wings forcibly beating in the air. The ducks watched them ascend quietly till Mallory shuddered and rubbed her arms as if cold.

"This place gives me the creeps." She muttered.

"You and me both kid." Duke agreed darkly.

O.O

Calivan looked down at the ducks, then back at the wall in front of him. 

"I don't believe this. The ceiling keeps going and the walls never stop!" Orian complained. Kazar growled unhappily.

"We should rejoin the others and tell them of what we've found." He informed them. 

"I agree. It's dangerous to stay separated for long." Calivan told them. Slowly they started to descend, only to cry out as their feet touched ground.

"What in blazes?!" Orian cried, banging on what seemed to be glass as the ducks stared up at them, startled.

"CALIVAN! WHAT'S WRONG??" came Wildwing's call.

"THERE'S SOME KIND OF GLASS OR SOMETHING! WE CAN'T GET DOWN TO YOU!!" Calivan called back, pounding forcibly on the barrier keeping him from the team. With a roar, Kazar lashed out with his claws causing a shriek to sound throughout the building and causing everyone to cover their ears. When the shrieking stopped, Kazar shook his head and frowned. He hadn't made a single scratch mark. Suddenly the glass tilted and the three cried out as they lost their footing. They heard the ducks cry out for them as they slid down to the floor that was far below and far away from the team. They hit the floor with a thud, dust rising and causing them to cough.

"Well… That was fun…" Calivan muttered dazedly as Orian stood and dusted himself off. Kazar murred and stretched himself out as he stood, shaking his large body and flinging more dust into the already disturbed air. He then looked around as Orian kneeled next to Calivan, the green scaled guardian laying on the ground with one hand on his head and unmoving.

"We're in another part of the maze." Kazar stated, snorting.

"Great. Just when Calivan says something about it being a bad idea, what happens? We get separated." Orian exclaimed, miffed. Then he looked at his friend worriedly. "Are you okay?" he asked. Calivan merely groaned in reply.

"Give me a minute, I was at the bottom of our little heap." He muttered unhappily.

"Are you going to be all right?" Kazar asked in concern. "I may be the smallest of my clan, but I'm still bigger than you are." 

"Yeah. I realized that when you fell on top of me. You weigh more than you look like you should." Calivan grunted, sitting up with Orian's help. He took a deep breath, then coughed at the disturbed dust. "So… where are we now?" he asked, looking around.

"Another part of the maze apparently." Kazar said calmly, sitting and looking up at the walls. "I'd say flying at this point is out of the question."

"And climbing wouldn't be any better." Orian muttered.

"Looks like we have to get to the center if we want to meet back up with the others." Calivan stated, grunting as Orian helped him stand. He looked around and frowned at the straight hall that seemed to go on forever. "This is getting ridicules. The whole place can't look like this can it?" he asked unhappily.

"Apparently so." Kazar rumbled. Then he stiffened and stood, nostrils flaring and teeth bared. "Something is coming." He growled. Calivan and Orian looked around, then frowned, taking their swords in hand.

"Get ready…" Orian said quietly as the sound of angry and hateful voices came from a darker end of the hall.

"Here they come." Calivan growled, his teeth bared. Then the Darkness was upon them.

O.O

Siege snickered as smoke flowed from Dragaunus' nostrils.

"Looks like you're going to have to resort to another way of killing off the ducks." He grinned. He quieted when Dragaunus roared and turned on him, grabbing him by the neck and flinging him up against the wall, causing the small human child to cry out fearfully. Dragaunus merely growled angrily, tightening his grip for a moment, then dropping his lackey and returning to the screen showing the now separated group. The guardians and the dragon were busy with warriors of the Great Dragon, so they were of no consequence, but the ducks…

"This is getting boring…" Dragaunus growled, waving his clawed hand in the air. Suddenly there came a great shaking. When it stopped he turned to Siege. "You wanted a chance to go after the ducks? Well, here's your chance." He growled, motioning to the screen to show that the ducks were now looking around, startled. The walls had changed and moved showing ways into the maze. "I'm going to split them up and we can take them out one by one." He purred. Siege grinned, standing up.

"Now you're talking!" he exclaimed. Dragaunus grinned toothily at him.

"And once we're done with the ducks, we'll have at these humans." He stated, laughing coldly. Siege's grin darkened and together they laughed before leaving on their 'hunt'.

The humans looked at each other, then at the screen and prayed for help. Right now however, their future was looking very bleak.

o.o

"This is insane." Canard muttered, staring at the newly made entrance.

"Looks like Draggy's changed his mind about keeping us in the dark." Duke muttered. Nosedive turned to Wildwing worriedly.

"You think Kazar and the guardians are alright?" he asked. Wildwing smiled at him, putting a hand on his brothers shoulder.

"They should be." He said. "Kazar can kick some serious butt when he wants to… I should know." He gave a crooked grin causing his brother to snicker. "Besides, the guardians know how to fight, they have to otherwise the Great King wouldn't have sent them." Wildwing stated. Nosedive nodded, then turned to look at the rest of the team.

"Looks like I got us in another mess, huh?" he asked. Duke shook his head.

"Nah. We would have thought of the flying thing sooner or later. It was only a matter of time." He said. Then he looked at the entrance. "So… are we going in, or what?" he asked.

"I say we go in. Standing around here won't help anyone." Mallory said, puck bazooka in hand and a dangerous look in her eyes. Wildwing frowned, then nodded.

"I agree. Come on team, stick close together so we don't get separated any more." He told them. The group entered the maze, making their way through slowly till a rumbling caused them to stop and try to keep their balance.

"NOW WHAT?!?!" Canard exclaimed as the ground beneath him dipped.

"Feels like an earth quake!" Tanya called to them.

"I think it's worse than that Tauny!" Nosedive called, then cried out as he was slammed to the ground. 

"The walls are comin' out of the floor!" Duke cried out. Then he yelped as he was tossed backwards into a wall, only to go *through* it.

"DUKE!!" Mallory cried. She yelped as a wall came up between her and Nosedive, Nosedive grabbing her hands to try and pull her over to him, only to lose his grip as the wall climbed higher to the ceiling.

"MALLORY!!" he cried, then turned as he heard his brother calling for him, Grin and Tanya crying out as they tried to stay together and not succeeding anymore than he had with Mallory. "WING?" he yelled as the rumbling grew even louder, the walls and floor changing.

"DIVE!" he heard his brother cry, then silence fell as the rumbling ceased. Nosedive looked around, panicked. He was alone. 

"WING!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Nosedive!!" the call was muffled, but it wasn't Wildwing. It was Canard, and Nosedive went to the sound of the tan mallards voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Nosedive yelled back.

"We're all fine!" Mallory's muffled voice came.

"Speak for yourself!" Duke coughed.

"Grin? Tanya?" came Wildwing's voice.

"Wing!" Nosedive cried, relief washing over him.

"I'm okay!" Tanya coughed.

"Fine!" came Grin's voice. Their voices were all muffled from the concrete walls, but they were there and alive.

"I'm in a dead end." Came Canard's voice.

"Me too!" Nosedive called back. Muffled replies voiced the same.

"Looks like we'll be splitting up either way." Wildwing called back. "And the mask is distorted, I can't get any images. Nosedive, can you tell where I am?" he asked. Nosedive took a deep breath, calming himself and quickly praying for help. He closed his eyes, then nodded.

"Yeah. I can see the whole maze too!" he exclaimed.

"Good!" Wildwing exclaimed. "Can you sense the others?"

"Can you?"

"Yes, but I want to make sure you can too. I know Tanya's to my right, I'm going to try and get to her first since she seems to be the closest." Wildwing called back. Nosedive nodded slowly, trying to find the others.

"Canard's closer to me." He called. "Mallory, Duke's just on the other side of you, Grin's the furthest apart from all of us." He told them.

"I'll be fine." Grin called to them.

"Well, what should we do?" Mallory asked, fear coming through in her voice.

"Try to get back together." Wildwing called. "Tanya, I'm going to…" he cut off with a cry of pain, causing Nosedive to start.

"WING!" he cried fearfully.

"CRAP! GET MOVING!" there was the muffled sound of a scuffle, then a thud.

"WILDWING!" Canard cried out. Nosedive immediately took off through the maze.

"GET MOVING! THE SAURIANS ARE IN THE MAZE!!" came Wildwing's warning cry, then silence. Nosedive ran as fast as his legs could carry him, feeling his brothers 'call'. Then he saw silver and knew nothing more.

O.O

"WILDWING! NOSEDIVE!" Canard cried out, hearing the sounds of Wildwing fighting and the sounds of Nosedive running.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Mallory cried.

"YOU HEARD THE DUCK! GET MOVING MALLORY!" came Duke's voice. 

"WE HAVE TO FIND WILDWING AND HELP HIM!" Tanya called. Canard looked around, turning full circle and cursing. There were three paths for him to take and he wasn't sure which way to go. He frowned and started down the one on his left. Hopefully it would lead him to someone…

O.O

Grin frowned as he continued down the path he'd chosen. He could no longer hear the sounds of Wildwing's fight, and it was beginning to bother him. He took a deep breath as he came around a turn, his frown deepening as he found himself in another dead end.

"Great." He rumbled, his shoulders slumping. He turned and started with surprise. Before him now stood a group of Hunter Drones. "This is not my day." He muttered before leaping aside to avoid laser fire, then jumping into battle with a loud cry and fists flying.

O.O

Duke cursed as he turned another corner, only to find himself at a three-way fork. He stopped for a moment, looking around with his throat tight in indecision. Finally he made up his mind and took a deep breath, raising his hands to his beak.

"MALLORY!" he yelled. He waited a few moments, then…

"DUKE! WHERE ARE YOU?" the sound of her voice made him sigh with relief.

"OVER HERE!" he called back to her. After a moment of waiting in painful silence he heard the sound of running feet. Mallory then appeared at the opening of one of the hallways, a look of relief on her face.

"Duke!" she cried happily, running over and throwing her arms around him. They hugged for a moment, then stepped back with a sigh and a nod as they got back to business. "So… which way?" she asked. Duke smirked.

"Well, we can flip a coin for that one." He said, looking at the two hallways before them. "I came out of the one behind me." He told her. Mallory nodded then sighed.

"This place is freaking me out." She admitted softly. Duke nodded in agreement.

"I hear ya." He muttered gruffly. "So, left or right?" he asked. The sound of a painful cry made them look up to their left and their minds were made up.

"Left." They said as one before they took off quickly.

O.O

"Not good, this is not good…" Tanya muttered as she made her way through the maze. Her instincts told her that she was moving further away from her teammates, and it nearly brought tears to her eyes. At the moment she was fighting the urge to sit down and just cry. The team needed her. Wildwing needed her. And she wouldn't fail them. She turned a corner and sighed unhappily. A dead-end. "This is *not* my day." She muttered. She turned and headed back the way she came, only to run into something leathery that made her fall onto her backside. She looked up and gasped in surprise and fear. Siege grinned down at her.

"Hello ducky. You're the first one I've met! Lucky you…" he purred as he stepped forward. Tanya pushed herself back and away, standing and turning to run. Quickly she realized that she had no where to go, and she turned. No, she wouldn't give into her fear. Not this time. Maybe she didn't have the fighting skills of her fellow teammates but she was pretty darn good, and she wasn't going to run anymore. She got in a fighting stance and glared at Siege as he laughed at her.

'Great King, help me.' She prayed fervently. Then Siege attacked.

o.o

"HOLY ****!" were the first words out of his mouth when he found the path he'd chosen was blocked by more than a couple dozen Hunter Drones. Canard flipped backwards as the machines began firing at him and starting forward. A laser hit him in his left arm and he cried out in pain. "Man… why does everything have to happen to my left arm?" he hissed as he drew his puck launcher and began firing. He took down maybe eight or nine, getting hit and barely missing many shots, before he realized that he was going to need help if he was going to get out of this alive. Another shot from a Hunter drone hit him and he cried out painfully as a searing pain ran through his chest. Black haze lapped at the corners of his vision as he crumbled down against a wall when he heard two battle cries and an angry yell that could only be Grin. The other two he couldn't place. The sound of metal ripping through metal reached his ears as did the sound of someone using exploding pucks. A dark feathered mallard leaned over him as darkness began to over come him.

"Canard, are you alright kid?" came a voice thick with a Bronx accent. A groan was all he could manage before he finally passed out.

O.O

After warning his teammates, Wildwing had lost any communications he'd had with his teammates as he faced Dragaunus and tried to stay alive. Dragaunus was livid, his eyes wide and lit with what could only be called insanity as he lashed out with claws as sharp as daggers, Wildwing dodging the swipes and throwing blasts when he could, which wasn't often. Hatred fueled Dragaunus' attacks. Insanity helped, as did the powers the Enemy had given him. Maybe that was what had driven the saurian over the edge, but Wildwing couldn't tell. He couldn't even ponder the fact as he and Dragaunus fought, the fighting almost looking like a sickening dance to any onlooker.

'Nosedive… I need you!' Wildwing thought frantically. He gave a startled cry as he ran into a wall and then realized that Dragaunus had worked him into a corner. With determination setting in, Wildwing fired a blast of his power at Dragaunus. The next attack happened too quickly to be realized until *after* it had happened. Dragaunus dodged the blast, then with his scaled hand open, he racked his claws over Wildwing's unprotected midsection, the other hand swiping the side of Wildwing's face. Wildwing cried out, his hands immediately going to his stomach wound as he blinked. The wounds on his face were pretty deep, even going through the mask, but he could still see out of both eyes fortunately. For a second he nearly laughed. If he got out of this alive, at least he wouldn't have to wear an eye patch like Duke…

A chuckle from Dragaunus got his wavering attention as he slid down to the floor, weakness overcoming him due to pain.

"And so it ends." Dragaunus purred, standing over his enemy with his hands at his side. His expression changed from pleased to disgusted and he kicked Wildwing in his already wounded stomach, causing the mallard to cry out painfully. "This was all too easy." He growled. "You disappoint me… DuCaine…" he spat the last word and then went for the kill.

…

Nosedive stopped running, the silver leaving his vision and clarity coming to his mind. Determination was set on his face as he felt his brother's present danger. Remembering his father's words, he left it all to the Great King, then turned. This wall was all that separated him from his brother, and since there was no way over or around it, he'd just have to go through. Spreading his legs he steadied himself before raising his right arm and firing.

…

Dragaunus stopped where he was, looking to his left, startled. With one hand he held Wildwing by the neck, inches above the ground. The other hand was balled into a fist, glowing with dark flames tinged with gold. What was happening? He stared at the wall as it shook violently, dust flying from it. All around there came a pained scream of servants to the Great Dragon. His enemy/meal forgotten, he stared at the wall in startled confusion, Wildwing squinting at the wall as well as he tried to loosen the grip Dragaunus had around his neck.

…

The wall shuddered but did not give in. Nosedive merely fired again, ignoring the wails of demons as he did so. He was aware of the Darkness closing in on him but he paid it no heed. His job was to get to his brother. The Great King would take care of the Darkness, he had nothing to fear. The wall shuddered again as he fired, the Darkness surrounding him, then flying back as the flames that surrounded Nosedive suddenly lashed out with a bright Light that seemed to engulf the blonde duck at the center and make him disappear. The screams turned from painful to fearful and suddenly the Darkness was fleeing. Not from Nosedive, but from the Light. Nosedive merely fired and smirked as the wall came tumbling.

…

"Nosedive…" Wildwing hissed hoarsely as the screams turned fearful and then died out completely. Dragaunus was shaking with rage.

"NO!" he yelled as the wall fell. He dropped Wildwing and backed away as Nosedive calmly walked over the crumbling stones which quickly turned to dust and disappeared, for the walls were merely things of the Darkness and the Darkness held no power over the Light. Dragaunus backed away from the young duck, then smirked evilly. "Fine then…" he growled. "You want your brother? You can have him… for as long as he lives." He purred. "I have his scent. I will give you time to try and get to the center of my maze… but only a little. And then I shall hunt you down!" He growled, before turning and fleeing into the darkness. Nosedive would have gone after him had not his brother been injured. Instead the flames dancing off his body died and he ran to his brother, kneeling beside the white mallard. His hands hovered over Wildwing, unsure of what to do as he looked over his brother painfully, tears coming to his eyes.

"Wing…" he croaked. Wildwing merely grunted in reply, then smiled, his breaths coming in quick short gasps.

"Good… job on… the wall…" he managed. Nosedive shushed him, fighting back tears.

"Y-you…" Nosedive whispered. He shook his head and gave his brother a weak, wet smile. "You're gonna be alright bro." He claimed softly. Wildwing snickered, then grunted.

"Help me up…" he hissed. "We've got to… get out of… here…" Nosedive didn't know what to do, yet did as he was told, his heart nearly beating out of his chest as he helped his brother stand. Was this a good idea? He wasn't sure, but he knew that neither of them were going to die without a fight. Dragaunus was going to regret this day. With their faces set, and stubbornness guiding them, the two limped down the now lit passage before them. They had to find the others, and then the center of the maze.

o.o

Tanya cried out as Siege slashed her in the back with his new dagger, the large burly saurian laughing gleefully as she turned her back away from him and held her pucklauncher in front of her, her hands shaking with fright.

"This is too much fun." The saurian laughed. "There's no way out for you duck. Prepare to be flambeid!" With that he held out a hand and blasted her back with his new power, golden flames dancing across his body. Tanya cried out as she was slammed into the wall behind her, then groaned as she slid down to the ground. She was a mess, her right arm cut up badly, her left leg sliced as well and her hair in disarray. Her clothing was torn and she wished for some escape, pleading for help from the Great King. But none seemed to be coming. She looked up as Siege stomped over to her and she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened and she let her arm fall. Looked like she would be the first to die.

A loud whistle caused Siege to stop and Tanya to look up, only to see Orian standing before them with a look of pure fury on his face.

"You sorry creature." The blue scaled guardian growled, his gold eyes livid with anger. "How dare you…" he hissed, Kazar stepping out from the darkness, Calivan lying on his back, his sword gone. He looked to be unconscious, his left arm tucked underneath him as blood trickled down Kazar's side. Apparently it came from the green scaled guardian. Kazar had his helping of wounds as well, yet they didn't seem to bother him as his muscles were taunt, his teeth bared as he growled at the saurian. His teeth were blackened, almost as if he'd been eating tar. Something inside told Tanya otherwise.

_Here is your help my beloved child._ Tanya gasped at the warm words washing through her, nearly bringing tears to her eyes as she watched Siege face Orian and Kazar laughingly. _Be not afraid, for I am with you always. Peace be with you._ the calm that came to her, cleared her mind and she took a deep breath as the feeling of warmth stayed with her. She was safe now.

Siege on the other hand, was a whole 'nother story. Orian attacked with a battle cry that bounced off the walls, his sword drawn and raised as he came down upon the large saurian. Siege's eyes were wide with surprise and he merely dodged, not really knowing what else to do. He wasn't supposed to be dealing with this creature! The Great Dragon was to have defeated him and his friend long ago! What was he still doing here? Orian turned as Kazar let out a roar to be proud of, shaking the area to its foundation and causing Siege to fall over backwards in fright.

"Take Calivan." The dragon purred, Orian looking at him oddly. "I want to be the one to take out Siege. Wildwing's going to get Dragaunus so why can't I have a little fun?" he asked, a dangerous look in his eyes. Orian nodded, calming and hurrying over as Siege stared at them wide-eyed and unsure of what to do. He wasn't supposed to have to deal with these creatures! Orian pulled Calivan off Kazar's back, then carried his friend over to Tanya, the green scaled guardian waking up when he was set down next to the blonde duck in time to see Kazar pounce on Siege. The large saurian cried out in fear as he was beat around, almost like Kazar was a cat playing with a mouse.

"Wha… What's goin' on?" Calivan asked drowsily, Tanya immediately taking a look at the wound on his side. Orian kneeled next to his friend worriedly.

"Kazar's dealing with Siege. Are you alright?" he asked. Calivan merely closed his eyes, his head falling to the side as he slipped into unconsciousness once more.

"Oh stars…" Tanya gasped, staring at the guardians wound. "This is really deep." Orian nodded.

"Yeah. The Enemies little creatures managed to… get the best of us for a moment or two." He muttered softly. "He lost his sword, and then took that wound for me." He explained. "I guess I wasn't paying enough attention." He sighed and shook his head. "It's healing though, which is good. It was a lot deeper."

"What?!" Tanya asked in surprise, looking over at the blue scaled guardian in surprise. He merely grinned at her weakly.

"Work of the Great King Himself." He told her. Then he winced at the scream of pain coming from Siege and the deep guttural growl from Kazar. "Man am I glad I'm on Kazar's side…" he muttered. Tanya could only nod in agreement.

O.O

"I think now would be one of those times when you sing some cheesy little song and get everyone to look at you like you're crazy." Duke stated as he, Mallory and Grin continued through the maze, Grin carrying an unconscious Canard. Mallory merely rolled her eyes.

"Can we look at you like you've lost your mind anyway?" she asked Duke. He merely snickered and grinned at her, causing her to shake her head and look behind them. "Well, all's well in the rear." She informed them.

"Good. I'm hoping that we'll meet up with someone soon." Duke stated.

"As long as it isn't saurian you mean." Grin rumbled calmly.

"Amen to that." Mallory muttered, patting her puck launcher to insure that it was still there. "I don't have that many pucks left." She admitted to them.

"Yeah, and it'd be loads of fun trying to protect Canard." Duke said sarcastically. He looked over at Grin. "How's he doin' there big guy?" he asked. Grin shook his head.

"I can't tell. This is Tanya's area of expertise." He told them.

"Well, let's hope that the next person we meet is Tanya then." Duke muttered. A gasp made him look up, then start in surprise as Mallory ran forward to Nosedive, carrying a bloody Wildwing. "WILDWING!" was his cry as he ran forward, Grin following. Nosedive helped his brother sit down in enough time to turn and take Mallory in his arms.

"Are you two okay?" she asked as Duke kneeled next to his team leader.

"Wing's hurt pretty bad, but…" Nosedive couldn't finish and he shook his head, then looked at Grin. "You guys okay? What happened to Canard?"

"Hunter drones. And a lot of them." Duke answered. He shook his head then looked at Wildwing worriedly. "Wing? You still with us?" he asked. Wildwing nodded slowly, then shook his head.

"The mask… get it… off…" he muttered wearily. Duke nodded and reached up, taking the mask off of his leaders face and then holding it while running his fingers over the gashes in it that were sparking.

"Stars Wing. What did this to you?" he asked softly.

"Dragaunus." Nosedive answered bitterly. "I… I tried to heal him, like he did me when we were at the beach a while back remember? But I couldn't… it's like the wounds are too deep… or something… I dunno!" He fell to his knees by his brother, Mallory kneeling beside him and wrapping her arms around him in comfort. "Wildwing don't you dare die on me bro." He hissed, fighting back tears.

"I won't…" was Wildwing's soft reply. His eyes were closed, his hands on his stomach wound. "And… it's not… that deep…" he muttered, lifting a bloody hand and smearing it on the wall.

"What are you doing?!" Duke asked, his eye widening.

"Wing! Are you crazy!? Dragaunus is hunting us, remember!" Nosedive exclaimed, grabbing his brothers wrist. "You're making it easy for him!"

"What do you mean he's hunting you?" Mallory asked, sitting back from the blonde teen.

"Dragaunus left when I reached Wing." Nosedive told them. "He said he'd give us a few minutes to try and find the center of the maze before he came after us." 

"Dive… I have a… a plan…" Wildwing hissed in pain as he tried to sit up, Duke helping him. "Help me… out bro…"

"I'm going to regret this aren't I?" Nosedive asked unhappily.

"Wildwing, what's this plan of yours?" Duke asked darkly. Wildwing actually opened his eyes to show that they were glowing silver, then lifted a bloodied hand. 

"Smear it… on the walls… It will… throw him off…"

"Wildwing…" Grin stared at his team captain worriedly. "You'll die…"

"Do it." Was the hissed reply. Nosedive looked at his teammates and then his brother before he sighed dejectedly.

"I'll do it bro." He muttered softly, taking his brothers hand in his. Then he stood, and with tears in his eyes he moved down the hallway forcibly, his body shaking. Wildwing watched him for a moment before closing his eyes.

"Wildwing?" Duke asked worriedly. Wildwing looked at him quietly, the silver in his eyes unnerving the older mallard.

"We better… hurry. Dragaunus… is coming…"

"Then let's get you up so that we can move as soon as Nosedive gets back." Duke said, reaching over and starting to lift Wildwing up, Mallory helping him with tears in her eyes. Grin shook his head and looked down the hall to see Nosedive on his knees by a wall, his head bowed as his back shook. This was killing him… more than he dared to realize.

o.o

With one final toss, Siege was sent to Dimensional Limbo by Kazar and Orian. The large burly saurian was unconscious and from the looks of him, he would be for several days. Now Kazar turned and looked at Tanya as she kneeled by Calivan.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She looked up at him and smiled as she nodded.

"Yes, thanks to you guys. You saved my tail feathers." She told them. Orian merely nodded as he came over and lifted up his friend.

"Anytime Tanya." He said quietly. "Now, we'd better get moving and find the others. I have a gut feeling that there's something wrong." He explained as Kazar kneeled to allow the three onto his back.

"We're trapped in a maze from the Abyss. What do you mean you 'feel' something's wrong?" Kazar asked in exasperation.

"Let's just find the DuCaine's." Orian growled tightly. "I have the knawing feeling that they need our help." Kazar nodded and stood after Tanya had climbed on and wrapped her arms around Orian's waist to steady herself. She bit back a cry of fear as Kazar took off at a full gallop, and prayed that Wildwing and the others were alright.

O.O

There were too many twists and turns to count and he was tiring. Canard had woken up long ago and was now helping him walk while Nosedive did whatever he asked him to do, albeit unhappily. Every now and then everything would start spinning, and then suddenly right itself as if it knew spinning would make him sick. He could sense that Tanya was safe and on her way to them, in fact she and the guardians weren't too far off. Dragaunus on the other hand, was busy trying to find them. Wildwing had to smirk. With his scent everywhere in this stupid maze, Dragaunus would be running around crazy for hours.

With a sigh he tried to focus in on the humans, try to find them in order to get to them, and found that he wasn't able to concentrate any longer. He shook his head and looked over at his brother.

_Dive…_ Nosedive looked at him and he smiled wearily. _Find the humans…_ he wanted to say more but weariness was taking over and causing his thoughts to drift. There were hundreds of things he should have done before they came on this mission, things he shouldn't have put off for as long as he had. Tanya…

Bro. the clear voice ripped through the thoughts and he blinked and looked to see Nosedive taking off the top part of his armor. When had they stopped walking? Nosedive took off his teal shirt and ripped it, wrapping a part of it around Wildwing's midsection. We're not far from the center. Just stay with me, everything's going to be all right. Nosedive said calmly, lovingly. Seems their places had been reversed. For years, Wildwing had been the one to tend to Nosedive, keep him calm, and now Nosedive was doing it for him. With a smile and a nod he allowed Nosedive to put an arm around him and start forward again, Grin, Duke and Mallory keeping with them.

"How far to the center?" Duke asked. Hadn't Nosedive just said something about that?

"Not far. Just a few more turns." Nosedive answered.

"I hope Tanya's doing alright." Mallory muttered, rubbing her arms uncomfortably.

"She's fine. Kazar and the guardians are with her. We should meet up with them before too long." Nosedive said, then grunted as he tried to keep Wildwing upright.

"Wildwing… stay with us!" Canard said, his voice worried. Wildwing merely nodded slowly and tried to help get his own legs beneath him. He wasn't successful and finally dragged Nosedive and Canard down as his strength gave out. They both cried out in alarm, Duke, Mallory and Grin running over in worry.

"Wildwing!" was the cry of alarm from the group. A thudding noise made them look up to see Kazar coming around the bend, a startled look on his face as Tanya leapt off his back and ran to them.

"Tanya!" Nosedive cried in relief. 

"What happened?" Tanya asked as she hurried to them, kneeling by Wildwing's side as he blinked at her dully, his eyes glowing a dull silver. The glow was starting to fade, and Nosedive was beginning to pale.

"Wing…" he moaned, putting his hands on his brothers shoulders, pleading for his older brother to stay with him. 

"Dragaunus did this to him." Duke said darkly, then explaining quickly what Nosedive had told them when they'd first met back up.

"Oh stars…" Tanya muttered. She shook her head and held Wildwing's head in her lap as he looked at the group wearily. He then looked at her and smiled softly.

"Tanya…" he whispered. Tears came to her eyes and she smiled down at him lovingly.

"Don't die on me." she whispered softly. He nodded, closing his eyes.

"I won't…" he muttered. Then he sighed and lay still. Nosedive stiffened as time seemed to stop for the team. Tanya started crying, her vocal cords not seeming to want to work as Nosedive started to shake.

"Wing?" he croaked weakly, tears in his eyes. His hands were still on his brothers shoulders. The silence was deafening, Kazar moaning unhappily.

"Oh stars…" Canard's voice was cracking, as he sat back and fought tears. Mallory and Grin both put a hand on Nosedive's shoulders, Duke bowing his head and closing his eyes. They were startled out of their mourning when Nosedive suddenly released his brother and stood, his eyes glowing silver brightly, the flames dancing off his body.

"Kazar." He called strongly, his voice unwavering and startling the group into looking up at him. "I need you to carry Wildwing. We have got to get to the center of this maze now." he ordered. 

"Nosedive…" Duke started as Nosedive looked at him, then he shook his head. "Wildwing… he just…"

"He wanted to get to the center, we have to go. There are still people in this maze besides us. We have to get them out of here!" he looked at Tanya and nodded at her. "Wing will be alright." He promised softly. The team looked at each other, then up at Nosedive, startled. Had he lost his mind? Wildwing was… No, they couldn't think about it…

Mallory was the first to stand, her puck launcher in hand.

"Then let's go." She told him heatedly. "It's payback time." She exclaimed. Nosedive nodded at her, then looked at the others.

"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to wait for Dragaunus to come find us or give him a big surprise at the center?" Tanya nodded at him, her eyes dark with anger as she held Wildwing's unmoving form.

"Dragaunus is going to regret this." She promised. Canard merely nodded, too angry to speak as Duke stood and drew his saber, the blade forming and glowing. Ready to be used at any moment. Grin merely balled his hands into fists, his eyes angry.

"My inner peace has been tossed out the window. The saurian shall regret the pain we have suffered today." He promised darkly. Nosedive nodded, then looked over at Kazar and Orian, the blue scaled guardian climbing off of the dragons back and walking over.

"I'll take Wildwing." Orian said softly. Then he kneeled and lifted Wildwing into his arms, then walked back to Kazar, placing the limp form on the dragons back. It was at this time that Calivan came to for a second time.

"Wing?" he muttered wearily, blinking drowsily as Orian sat behind him, holding onto Wildwing tightly. When Calivan turned to him, Orian shook his head sadly. Calivan then turned and looked at Nosedive, then teen regarding him calmly as the flames danced off of his body. The green scaled guardian said nothing for a moment, then rubbed his face as if he'd been asleep, and leapt off Kazar's back, shiny pale green scales covering the place on his midsection where he'd been wounded before as it had now healed.

"What's the plan DuCaine?" he asked calmly.

"We're going to the center." Nosedive answered. "We have to get the humans out of here."

"What about Dragaunus?" Calivan asked. Nosedive smirked.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him right now. I'd say he's a little busy chasing his own tail at the moment." Calivan blinked at him, then watched as Nosedive walked past him saying something about the center of the maze. Calivan watched as Nosedive's teammates followed him, then grabbed Canard's arm before he could pass him by.

"Something isn't right." He whispered harshly. "What happened to Wildwing?" Canard looked at him for a moment, then looked down.

"Dragaunus. Wildwing's… he's gone Calivan." He said quietly, painfully. Calivan stared at him, then stepped back, shaking his head.

"No. That's not possible." He whispered hoarsely.

"He is Calivan." Orian said softly as Kazar stepped up, tears brimming in his large black eyes. "Nosedive is now the only DuCaine left."

"But… it cannot be!" Calivan stressed. He turned to his fellow guardian, his purple eyes wide.

"Calivan…" Canard started in exasperation, only to be interrupted.

"Wildwing cannot be dead!" Calivan exclaimed. "Nosedive is showing power! How can that be if Wildwing is no longer with us?" he asked. Silence reigned between the four.

"But…" Orian started. He looked down at the form in his arms, then at Calivan. "The breath of Life is no longer with him." He whispered.

"HEY! COME ON!!" Duke called from down the path, as he was standing at a curve. Canard looked at the guardians, then shook his head.

"Come on. We don't have much time. Maybe the power will just stay with him till this is over with." He guessed. Kazar nodded and followed the tan mallard as he hurried after his teammates. Calivan followed in disbelief, Orian merely placing a hand on Wildwing's neck, then looking over at his fellow guardian. The two shared a look for a moment, then nodded. There was more to this than met the eye.

O.O

The oldest human of the group was busy trying to pick the lock on his shackles, as the child sniffled in fear. Her face had a long scratch going down from her left eye to her chin from when Siege had attacked her home and captured her. The blood had stopped flowing long ago and now she was merely wanting to go home. The German boy beside her was still trying to comfort her, promising that she would be free soon. He was the only reason she wasn't crying aloud now, her large gray eyes staring up at the teen hopefully as he spoke. 

He grunted as his wrists reminded him that they were raw, and he stopped trying. Allowing himself to go limp, he looked at the young woman next to him.

"So." He said, his voice thick with a British accent. "What's your name?" he asked. She looked at him in surprise, then sighed and shook her head.

"Taniya. You?" she asked.

"William, but you can call me Bill. How'd these things get you?" She shook her head, her curly black hair falling into her brown face as her onyx colored eyes closed.

"I was just walking out of my house when the fat one grabbed me, and suddenly we were here." She told him. She looked down at her jogging clothing and then up at Bill sheepishly. "I know it looks like I was going running, but actually I was going to work."

"Work?" he asked, surprised. "Where do you work?"

"I'm a gym teacher at a high school. I get to dress out everyday. It's actually really nice and the kids are great." She told him. "What about you?" she asked him, referring to the jeans and T-shirt he wore.

"I was just lounging in my backyard, watching my ten-year old son and his six-year old sister play." He looked away with a frown, staring at the screen and not seeing it. "I hope they're all right." He muttered.

"I'm sure they are. They still have their mother don't they?"

"She died of Cancer, three months ago."

"I'm sorry." Was the quiet reply. The two stayed in silence for a moment till Bill looked over at the other two captives.

"What about you two?" he asked, gaining their attention. "What's your names?" The German boy smiled at them, a spark in his green eyes that told them he wasn't one to give up easily. 

"Robert" he told them. He looked down at the little girl as she sniffled loudly and looked at Bill with tears.

"Elizabeth." She said, the Australian accent coming out. "I wanna go home!" she cried, nearly wailed. 

"We'll all be going home soon Beth." Bill told her, shortening her name. "I promise."

"Yeah, I bet the Mighty Ducks are on their way here right now." Taniya told her, smiling comfortingly.

"Why are those beasts after these ducks anyway? Where did they all come from?" Bill asked her. Taniya shook her head with a shrug.

"Don't know why." She admitted. "The ducks actually play hockey in Anaheim. My husband always roots for them. We do know that they're from another planet. Apparently they came here to stop some enemy of theirs from taking over everything." She explained.

"Well, they're not doing a very good job." Bill muttered unhappily, once again trying to pick the lock on his shackles.

"They've been here for about three years." Robert said suddenly, gaining the twos attention. "I have a friend over the Internet who does nothing but talk about them during hockey season." He explained. "If they've been here for this long and no one's taken over the world yet, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job, don't you think?" he asked. Bill frowned, then sighed.

"Well, we're relying on them to get us out of here. Let's hope they win." He said gruffly, then quieting as he concentrated on his work, Taniya turning to help Robert comfort Beth. Silently he prayed for help, then froze as a noise came from the doorway. Silence reigned the room and the four looked at the opening to their room expectantly, rebellion showing in Robert's features. A moment later one of the ducks stepped into the doorway and looked around, then smiled. The humans just stared at him. He had blonde shoulder length hair, white flames dancing off his body as his eyes glowed silver. Several more of the ducks came up behind him, one with blonde hair and glasses sighing in relief.

"They're still alive." She said, pushing past the other blonde and hurrying over to them. A dark feathered duck with one eye hurried over to them, his saber shrinking to the hilt as he went to place it on his left arm. He smirked when he saw Bill and held up a lock pick of his own.

"Doin' pretty good. Need some help?" he asked with a wink. Bill smiled and nodded, relief running through him as the rest of the team hurried in, a large dragon coming in with one duck on his back while a blue scaled creature held him, a green scaled creature hurrying over to Beth and putting a hand on her wounded face. The shackles opened and Bill let his arms lower and began rubbing his wrists as the blonde female hovered over him.

"We'll have to get you some medical attention as soon as we're out of here." She told him.

"We can go home now?" Beth asked hopefully as Duke picked Taniya's lock and then headed for her, Robert nodding to something a large tan mallard had said to him.

"Yes little one. We'll get you home as quickly as possible." The green scaled creature told her comfortingly.

"What are you doing to her?" the red haired duck asked him as Duke moved on to Robert's shackles, the scaled creature lifting the child in his arms, one hand still on her face.

"Healing her." He said calmly.

"Calivan…" the blue scaled creature said in a warning tone. Calivan merely frowned, his purple eyes glowing brightly.

"There is nothing wrong with helping her Orian." He said calmly. "Besides, it's infected." His hand moved away as Beth lay her head on his shoulder, sleep coming over her suddenly as Robert and Taniya stared at him. Beth's face was completely healed.

"How…" Bill started.

"Thank the Great King." Calivan said, handing the child to Taniya. He looked over at the glowing duck in the doorway. "We must get them out of here now Nosedive." The duck nodded.

"I know." He said calmly. "But it's going to be kind of hard. I've been tracking Dragaunus. He knows we're here and he's coming."

"Oh great. Now what?" the red head exclaimed.

"Looks like we'll just have to be more careful Mallory." The tan duck explained. Nosedive looked at the one called Kazar.

"Orian, is there any way we can get them out of here?" he asked, the flames starting to die down.

"The only thing I can think of would be to take them to Dimensional Limbo, and then take them somewhere else." Orian answered.

"Yes but it could be dangerous." Calivan told him. "If it's your first time in Limbo, you'll get Dimensional sickness. The only one in your group that won't would be Canard." With that he nodded at the tan mallard.

"Dimensional Limbo? Dimensional sickness? What are you guys talking about?" Taniya asked.

"What if they were only there for a moment or two?" Canard asked. 

"Yeah, how long does it take for this Dimensional sickness to kick in?" the one eyed duck asked.

"About five minutes or so." Calivan answered.

"Okay, so we just get there and then you open another portal and we get out. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me Duke." Nosedive told them. "You guys go on and get out of here."

"DUCAINE!!!!" the bellow caused everything around them to shake and the group looked up startled.

"Go! Get them out of here!" Nosedive exclaimed. Then the monster who called himself Dragaunus was in the doorway, black flames dancing off his body as he glared at Nosedive, smoke flaring from his nostrils.

"DuCaine…" he hissed. Then, his teeth bared and claws swiping, he attacked.

O.O

Nosedive nearly cried out as Dragaunus lunged at him, an insane look in the saurians eyes.

"Open a portal!" the teen cried as he ducked another swiped, then tried to take Dragaunus in the opposite direction of his teammates and the humans.

"It will pull everyone in! Including Dragaunus!" Orian warned.

"Not good!" Canard's voice cut through a bellow from Dragaunus, Nosedive turning and blasting the saurian right in the face and dodging an angry swipe. 

"No! It is good! OPEN A PORTAL!!"

"But Dragaunus…" Calivan started. Nosedive ducked another swipe and glared at him, his eyes glowing silver angrily.

"That's an order!" he called. Calivan started, wonder written on his face as the tone of voice Nosedive was using. Slowly he nodded, then turned and faced a wall with his palm up. The wall began swirling, changing to show a world of color. Then the air began being sucked into this colorful realm as if someone had turned on a huge vacuum. With a cry, they were sucked in, Dragaunus screaming with rage.

"NO! I WON'T GO BACK! I WON'T!" he shouted, digging his claws into the floor. Nosedive watched him, his eyes flashing quickly as he too was dragged into the portal.

"I don't think so Dragaunus." He growled, sounding unmistakingly like his brother. "You're going back to where you came from." As he was pulled through the portal, he threw a blast at the saurian, catching Dragaunus in the back and making him scream as his clothes and scales were burned away. Caught off guard, the saurian released his hold on the ground and was dragged tumbling and cursing into Dimensional Limbo. Then the portal closed and the world was silent, till everything suddenly began wavering like a hologram on bad reception.

To the outside world it was strange. One minute they were staring at miles of wall that never seemed to end, and oppressing darkness. Now however, it was wavering in and out of focus, till a gust of wind blew through, causing it all to be blown away like mere sand. The old concentration camp, now museum, stood before them untouched. But there was no sign of the ducks, the saurians, or the hostages.

O.O

Swirling colors everywhere… it was dizzying. Nosedive shook his head and looked away from his surroundings and at Dragaunus, only to cry out as he was slammed and sent flying backwards. The large saurian laughed maniacally as Nosedive tried desperately to right himself, his teammates and the humans clinging to each other as Orian flew away quickly saying something about firm ground. Calivan was staring at Nosedive, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide as he clung to Duke and Kazar, keeping the group from getting separated. Canard was helping him.

"You little fool." Dragaunus purred as Nosedive shook his head to clear it. "I've grown up in this realm. You are now, once again, at a disadvantage!" he exclaimed, glowing with the dark flames tinged with gold. He drew back a hand, then fired at Nosedive. The teen dodged, then glared at Dragaunus as his eyes glowed silver brightly.

"You will be stopped Dragaunus!" he claimed, trying to keep the world from spinning. It was strange, this realm almost seemed chaotic, but then… there was just so much order to it… and the swirling colors were making him sick. Dragaunus laughed at him, coming closer with smoke flaring from his nostrils.

"And who will stop me? You?" he asked. Laughing he lifted his hand and slapped Nosedive, causing the teen to cry out as he was sent flying again. "You're pathetic! You stand no chance against me!"

"Haven't you tried that ploy before Dragaunus? It didn't work last time, it won't work now!" with a cry, Nosedive put his wrists together, his hands open, and fired a powerful blast at his enemy. Dragaunus dodged it and came up at Nosedive, his clawed hand open and going for the teen midsection. He cried out as something slammed into his side, knocking him off course. He cursed as he righted himself, Nosedive ending his blast and turning to the saurian angrily. Dragaunus' eyes widened in fear at the sight before him, feeling solid ground suddenly come beneath his feet. Nosedive was standing before him, a look of fury on his face. But that wasn't what frightened the evil dictator, for next to Nosedive stood…

"We will finish this now Dragaunus. Your people will never threaten our world or any other world ever again!" Wildwing was standing beside Nosedive, his eyes glowing silver with the power of DuCaine as he stood tall. The wounds he'd had before were now gone leaving only a couple of scars on his face that were now being covered with fresh feathering and ripped clothing over his stomach, which was also scared and being covered with fresh feathering. The brothers stood together, both of them covered with silver flames that danced across their bodies. For a moment the flames covered them both, together, and then with a flash of bright light the flames disconnected and the two were separated, flames covering them separately and not joining them together.

"Should we take him out now bro? Or save him for the guardians?" Nosedive asked almost coldly as Dragaunus began to rise. Wildwing glared at the saurian darkly and shook his head as his enemy stood and stared at him.

"This is impossible… You should be dead!" Dragaunus exclaimed.

"He's mine Nosedive. Thanks." Wildwing answered almost cryptically.

"No prob." Nosedive answered. Then he turned and walked away. "Have fun!" he called cheerfully over his shoulder. "I'm gonna' make sure no stray shots hit the others." He stated, his teammates staring at them both wide eyed. Wildwing merely nodded.

"Sounds good." He said darkly. Then he smirked at Dragaunus. "I believe you and I had a fight to finish?" he asked. Dragaunus looked at him for a moment till his face contorted with rage and he ran at the duck, fists flying. Wildwing either blocked the punches or dodged. A few hits hit their marks, but when they did Wildwing would turn and hit him with a flying kick, usually to the head. The two fought, Dragaunus trying to draw blood, Wildwing merely watching him calmly and coolly, taking in all of the saurians moves and then fighting back.

The others watched, shocked at what was happening as Nosedive stood before them, the flames on his body flaring out to cover them all as Orian came back and stood beside him.

"Thanks for the floor." Nosedive told him, watching the fight calmly.

"Thank the Great King." Orian told him as Calivan joined them. "Jasmine wanted me to inform you two that she doesn't think any of our cells will hold Dragaunus, but the technology his people held has already been taken care of. The Great King sent her out right before Siege was sent so…" he shrugged and Nosedive merely nodded.

"That's good." He said. Then he looked away from the battle, Wildwing basically leap froging over Dragaunus and then turning and laughing as Dragaunus fell over. "Can we send everyone home now?" he asked.

"We can send the humans back to Germany, but we'd have to open a whole 'nother portal for you guys to go back to Anaheim." Calivan told him.

"We could go with them." Canard answered. "The Aerowing is in Germany, we still have to reclaim it."

"We're staying till this is over." Duke said suddenly. "In case Wildwing needs help. We're a team, we stick together." Nosedive looked back at his teammate and smiled in thanks as the others nodded in agreement, then looked at Calivan.

"Send the humans home Cal." He said softly. Calivan nodded then walked over to the four humans with a smile.

"All right folks. Show's over. Let's get you back to Earth." He said cheerfully.

"But… what's going to happen?" Robert asked worriedly. Calivan smiled comfortingly.

"Worry about that later okay? I want to get you out of here before you start getting sick." He informed them. "Come on." With that he directed them away, Elizabeth still in Taniya's arms and waving at the ducks as they were led away.

"BYE!!" she called loudly, hoping Wildwing would hear her. Then she quieted and looked around at the others humans as they left the scene. The ducks, Orian and Kazar watched as Wildwing fought, a blast from Dragaunus making it their way every now and then. Fortunately Nosedive managed to deflect them, watching his brother worriedly. The fight was beginning to slow down now, Dragaunus wearing out. Finally the saurian fell to his knees, unable to rise. Wildwing watched him quietly, Dragaunus' temper flaring.

"GREAT DRAGON!! YOU SAID I WOULD WIN! I DID EVERYTHING YOU ASKED!" the saurian bellowed, throwing his head back in rage. He started as everything around him shook, Wildwing even starting with surprise and putting his arms out in order to try and keep his balance.

**_Your Master has no power here saurian Dragaunus!_** the voice came from all around, and while it struck fear into Dragaunus, it caused the others to feel calm and in awe.

"Great King…" Orian muttered. He fell to his knees, the others doing the same, as did Kazar, for they were in the presence of the Creator. A pillar of perfect white light exploded everywhere, nearly blinding them and causing them to cover their faces. The Light then began to cover them, sending both comfort and… shame. As the others looked up, Duke hid his face, Canard staring down at the ground, and Nosedive and Wildwing looking completely at peace as they sat up with their eyes closed.

**_My precious children. I am proud of you, for you have done well._**

No words could be formed from the two and they stayed where they were, opening their eyes and looking up, smiling with tears in their eyes. The Light then moved away from them, surrounding Dragaunus.

**_You shall be punished for what you have done Dragaunus. _**the saurian was cowering fearfully, wanting to get away and pleading for his master to rescue him. But no rescue was to come. **_Death is your penalty. Your 'power' is stripped of you. _** The light left him and he looked up, sobbing and nearly screaming when he realized that Wildwing was standing above him, glaring down at him. Only this time he was not covered with silver flames. His eyes and the flames were pure white and staring down at him angrily.

"We finish this now Dragaunus." He growled. Then he pointed his hand at the saurian, palm up, and the last thing Dragaunus saw was pure light that blinded him and he screamed as he was sent to oblivion.

…

**_Duke. Why do you hide yourself from me?_**

Duke shook his head, finding the question ridicules, but looked up and was startled to find that he was alone.

**_You're not alone. We're just talking privately. Why were you hiding? Come, follow me._**

Again Duke shook his head.

"I can't." he choked on his words, then held his head in his hands as he shook violently, refusing to let the tears fall. "LEAVE ME! I CAN'T!" He opened his eyes and found himself back with the others, Wildwing and Nosedive walking over to him.

"Duke?" Nosedive asked softly as the others watched them, wiping their faces. He shook his head, mentally creating a box around himself to keep them all out. He grunted as suddenly he was embraced, and he found himself in the arms of Wildwing and Nosedive, the two hugging him tightly.

"Don't push Him away." Wildwing whispered.

"I'm too tainted Wing." Duke answered gruffly. "Please, he wouldn't want me. Don't… please don't Wildwing." The brothers backed away from him, regarding him with silence, then nodded in respect of his wishes. There was nothing they could do right now, and pressing the matter wouldn't help. 

"Is it all really over?" Mallory's voice gained attention and the two looked at her and smiled wearily.

"Yeah." Wildwing said, looking past them at the still swirling area behind them. "Dragaunus is gone now."

"Where's the Great King?" Kazar asked curiously, looking around.

"He's still here." Orian told him. "Just because you cannot see does not mean He doesn't exist." He explained. "It's time for you all to return to your world…" he paused as Calivan returned.

"Hey! Good job!" the green scaled guardian grinned. "I'm to return you to Earth, but first…" he looked at Nosedive and Wildwing, the grin disappearing. "The Great King wishes to see you both. Alone." Nosedive and Wildwing gave him an odd look, then gasped as they were engulfed in bright light and disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" Tanya cried worriedly.

"The Great King took them. He'll bring them back." Orian said calmly. "He's done this before. Don't worry." He then looked over at Calivan.

"Should we wait?" he asked. Calivan nodded.

"I was told that the two would be asleep when He returned them." He said quietly. The rest of the team shared a look as Kazar murred, ready to go home. For some reason, they weren't really worried… 

O.O

Wildwing and Nosedive looked around, kneeling in the presence of the Great King. Together they looked at him questioningly.

"Why have you brought us here?" Wildwing asked.

**_Your power is no longer needed._**

"Are you taking it back then?" Nosedive asked hopefully.

**_You are going to need a way home little one._** there was a smile in the reply and Wildwing snickered at his brother, Nosedive growing sheepish. **_But you will not be able to do anything more than create a portal to go home. The rest of your power will lie dormant, for you will need it again in the future._**

"What?! Why?" Wildwing asked unhappily. "Why can't you just take this from us?"

**_Because I have chosen you. Do not fear this power my child, for I have found you worthy. I will promise you this however. It ends with you. The two of you have power of your own and no longer share. However, this power you both now posses will NOT be passed to your children. After you, it will no longer be needed._**

"That's a relief." Nosedive muttered. "Hey, quick question… is this going to put a damper on our social lives?" he asked with a grin. A chuckle was the only reply he got before weariness overcame him.

**_Sleep now. I am pleased with you both, my children._** was the last thing they both heard before unconsciousness claimed them.

^-^

Phil was pacing in front of Drake One, Chameleon following him and mimicking him playfully. It was only when Phil turned and nearly ran into the child that he realized what the small saurian was doing. Smiling wearily, he bent down and lifted the child up into his arms.

"Hey squirt. Bored?" he asked. Chameleon nodded violently.

"When's Nosedive coming back? I wanna play!" Chameleon exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air and giggling. Phil gave a weak smile and tickled the child's sides, gaining a fit of giggles.

"I don't know kid. I really don't know." Phil answered softly. He looked up when the doors to the Ready Room opened, then grinned as Chameleon began squirming in his grasp to be let down. "BOOBELAS!!" he exclaimed happily, Chameleon cheering as Kazar walked in with a now waking Wildwing and Nosedive. The two looked worn, the rest of the team tired as well. "You guys okay?" Phil asked as he and Chameleon hurried over to them. "The press went crazy over the hostages appearing out of nowhere. I was worried!"

"That's a first." Duke teased weakly.

"We're fine Phil." Wildwing said, fighting a yawn and losing. "Just, really tired."

"And Dragaunus?"

"He's gone for good man." Nosedive grinned. Then he too yawned.

"Well… what happened?" Phil asked. "Nobody said anything, and the hostages were so ready to go home they refused to speak to the press." He explained.

"It's a long story Phil." Canard said. "If you'll sit down, those of us awake will tell you. Nosedive and Wildwing though…"

"We know, we know. We're going." Wildwing muttered as he and Nosedive climbed off of Kazar's back. 

"Bed, here I come!" Nosedive said happily, Chameleon jumping up and down as he ran around the two's legs happily. When they reached down and tickled him he ran off with a squeal and clung to Kazar's front left leg, as Mallory was already headed down the stairs. She merely laughed at him softly, then turned suddenly.

"Hey, wait a second." She called, causing Wildwing and Nosedive to turn and look at her. "Wildwing, you were hurt pretty badly… how did you manage to heal so fast and fight? We thought you were dead!" she exclaimed.

"You were hurt?" Phil asked surprised.

"Not now Phil…" Canard growled softly, quieting the human.

"I wasn't dead. I was just… sleeping." Wildwing told her, almost sheepishly. Nosedive rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"He passed out." He told her, thumbing at his brother.

"You scared us!" Tanya exclaimed, almost angrily, looking hurt as she came over to the two. Wildwing looked at her apologetically.

"I was still with you all. Remember what Calivan and Orian told us about the older DuCaine using the younger?" he asked. "I worked through Nosedive, made him keep going. I was the one fighting Dragaunus the whole time till Orian had enough time to heal me." He explained. "Then I released Dive and…" he shrugged. "You guys saw the rest." Canard grinned.

"Smart move!" he stated. Nosedive shook his head.

"He could have given me a better warning." He muttered, starting to turn away. He stopped when Tanya grabbed Wildwing's arm and glared at him for a moment before kissing him full on the beak. Everyone stopped and stared with their jaws dropped, Mallory almost laughing and Duke grinning as they recovered. The two parted, Tanya turning red as Wildwing looked at her in surprise.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." She muttered. He blinked at her for a moment, then smiled and hugged her, giving her a kiss back and gaining a loud whistle from his brother.

"I won't." he promised as they parted. Then, the two blushing beet red, Nosedive grabbed his brother and pulled him away.

"Come on lover boy. We have strict orders to go and crash in our rooms. *Sigh* What are you two going to be like on your wedding day?" The team heard him saying as he left. They didn't hear Wildwing's reaction, but Tanya's blush deepened and Mallory and Duke laughed as Chameleon ew'ed from his place behind Kazar's leg.

"Kissing's gross!" he exclaimed, his tongue hanging out in disgust. Tanya just shook her head.

"You'll think differently one day kid." Duke called as Tanya joined them in the living room.

"Nuh-uh!" was Chameleon's reply. Phil merely looked at his team and shook his head.

"Okay. You guys are telling me everything." He ordered. Canard nodded and the team sat down, Kazar laying down where he was and allowing Chameleon to climb all over him happily, glad that they were all finally home and safe.

Well… almost home anyways…

**__**

End?

Nope! To be continued in the sixth and final chapter…

*** 

Wow! This took a LONG time! I am so sorry! But writer's block is seriously evil! Hope you all enjoyed this, and guess what? It took Fanfic.net messing up for me to actually get the very end of this thing done! Sad, isn't it? Well, I promised I would finish this series, and I will. ^-^ I wouldn't lie to ya'll. I love ya too much. I hope none of you feel that I am trying to force my religion upon you, because I'm not. Sorry.

Anywho, the next chapter will be put up with this one. It's just, this thing is like, twenty-eight pages in doc. form. Probably double that in HTML. O.O *Gag!* Sorry, but I was NOT going to give you only five pages on this chapter. I felt it needed to be this long, especially since I've been working on it since like what, March? Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this! Tootles till the next chapter!

*** 

The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. Kazar and the Guardians belong to me. I belong to the Great King. There, I think that's copyright enough. ^-^


	6. End

**__**

Ch.6 

Wrapping it all up

(In a nice big bright pink bow ^-^)

He sighed, running his shaky hands through his hair for the fifth time in the past sixty seconds. His stomach was in knots, and a cold feeling was settling all around him. Odd, he'd always thought that this type of fear or nervousness should come when he was thinking about Dragaunus… not a girl.

"Wow Wing. I've never seen you so uptight about a game before." He looked up when he heard Duke's voice and saw the ex-thief standing in the doorway of his room. It had been two weeks since the battle with Dragaunus, and now they were preparing for the final game of the season.

"Duke…" he started, but the elder mallard chuckled and shook his head, walking in, the door closing behind him.

"Wildwing, you've got four hours before the game kid." Wildwing smirked, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Kid. I thought you saved that title for Nosedive." He muttered, opening his eyes and looking up at Duke. Duke merely shrugged and sighed, moving and sitting down next to Wildwing.

"Well, you both have your moments." He stated. Wildwing snorted, turning a black velvet box over in his sweaty hands.

"Like you don't?" he asked. Duke grinned and shook his head again. 

"Wildwing, don't worry about this." He said suddenly. "Just… do what we talked about, okay? Nosedive and I will be right there to help you, and I know Mallory will catch on real quick and help too… If Nosedive hasn't already told her." He muttered. Wildwing looked at him and shook his head.

"Nah. I made him swear not to and threatened his comic collection and his life if he said anything to anyone. Period." Duke about fell off the bed laughing, causing Wildwing to grin at him. After a moment, Duke calmed and took a deep breath. He quieted as he looked at the collage on Wildwing's wall, smiling at the few pictures that had made their way up there. Two of them were of Wildwing and Nosedive, two of the entire team, and about three were just of Wildwing and Tanya. Pictures of secret dates that no one but Duke and Nosedive really knew about.

"I guess the only thing you should really be worried about Wildwing would be, are you ready for this?" he asked, turning his head to look at the younger mallard. Wildwing quieted, looking down at the box, then up at the collage. Then he smiled, his look becoming almost wistful.

"Yeah." He said softly. Duke chuckled, causing Wildwing to look at him as he stood. "What?"

"You." Duke grinned at him, putting a hand on the white mallards shoulder. "Come on Wing. Let's get something to eat. If you're going to do this, you might as well do it at a winning game right?" Wildwing looked at him quietly for a moment, then frowned.

"I'm not sure I can."

"Am I gonna' have to get Nosedive in here to drag you out? Or…" Duke's eye lit up mischievously. "I could get Kazar to come and get you out of here." Wildwing shook his head and stood, pocketing the small box.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He grinned, looking downward nervously.

"Better compose yourself good fearless leader. Or she's gonna' catch on." Duke warned. Wildwing nodded, and took a deep breath and stood tall, then started laughing, causing Duke to give him an odd look.

"I feel so stupid." Wildwing suddenly admitted. "It's like I'm ten-years-old again, about to ask some girl to go to some dance with me." He exclaimed. Duke grinned at him, chuckling again. 

"You'll do fine. Now can we eat? Nosedive's about to pitch a fit." He stated. Wildwing gave him a surprised look.

"Dive?" he asked, the two of them finally starting out of the room and walking down the hall towards the kitchen. Duke nodded.

"Yeah. Your tension is flooding over into him and he can't eat. Mallory's been teasing him since he walked into the kitchen, shaking like a leaf." He explained. Wildwing blushed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh… sorry about that…" he muttered. "Guess we could blame it on it being the last game of the season, couldn't we?" he asked.

"We've been doing that… but she's enjoying it too much to leave him alone." Duke grinned. Wildwing snickered.

"Guess turnabouts fair play, right?" he asked, looking at the older mallard as he finally began to calm. Duke snickered.

"Does that mean we can toilet paper his room?" he asked. Wildwing laughed, then calmed.

"No." Duke's laughter was the only answer he got as they walked on, heading for the kitchen in the pursuit of food.

^-^

The last game of the season, and the opposing team wasn't making it easy for them. Tanya sighed as she skated behind the net, looking at Wildwing whose face was, as always, set in determination.

"Think there's any chance they'll give us a break?" she asked him as she skated past slowly, watching as Duke and Nosedive chased an opposing player who was heading for their net with the puck and a cocky grin on his face.

"We would be so lucky." Wildwing told her, concentrating on the players moves. "Get ready Tanya, you may be able to steal the puck from him." He told her. She nodded, and as the player neared them, she moved to hit the puck out from underneath. However, he predicted her move and shot it around her, and then past Wildwing. The white mallard looked ready to curse as the offending player cheered his goal, circling the net as Tanya rolled her eyes and shook her head unhappily. Duke cursed openly, Nosedive shaking his head angrily and moving over to his brother. They were now tied 4-4. 

"Hey bro…" he started, then stopped when the human made a kissing motion at Tanya, winked at her and skated off laughing. The anger coming off Wildwing was overwhelming and he had to catch himself before he went after the human with his brother. Instead he was there to stop the older mallard and shake his head as Tanya made a disgusted face and Mallory rolled her eyes and skated over to the blonde. 

"Bro." Nosedive tried again as Wildwing sighed, calming himself and began fishing the puck out of the net. "We're wearing out. Got any plans?" he asked. Wildwing looked at him, then shook his head.

"None. They've got the luxury of being able to switch out their players. We don't." he admitted as Canard and the others skated over. He sighed wearily. "I'm whooped too baby bro." He muttered, rubbing the part of his forehead that wasn't covered by the mask.

"Think we could just try what we used to back home?" Canard asked. Both Wildwing and Nosedive snorted.

"Yeah, and get kicked out of the league." Nosedive muttered.

"We're about to go home anyway, right?"

"No way Canard. Last time you sticked somebody, you about broke their leg." Wildwing told him darkly. "That and we don't give power plays. Got that?" he asked. Canard shrugged, then nodded.

"You're the team captain." He stated. Nosedive looked at him, then looked at Grin and grinned.

"Hey… I got an idea!" he exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him. His grin widened and he looked over at the opposing team who was cheering with their fans, their team scorer raising his arms in the air to get them to cheer louder, and putting on a show for both them and his ego. "That guy doesn't go anywhere near you and Grin Canard. If I can get the puck away from him and to you guys, maybe we'll have a better chance at winning this game." Canard snorted.

"Yeah right. Last quarter that goalie was reading me like a book. I can't get anything past him!"

"I cannot do so either." Grin added unhappily.

"I can." Mallory said with a wicked grin. "I think he's too busy getting it through his head that I'm a girl to remember that there's a puck." She told them. Nosedive's face darkened considerably and she laughed at him, punching him playfully in the arm. "Are you getting jealous?" she asked him. At this Nosedive turned red beneath his feathers and ducked his head. Wildwing shook his head, trying to hide a grin and failing.

"Then it's settled." He said. "Nosedive will pass the puck to Canard, Grin, you'll cover Canard as soon as he gets the puck and he'll pass it to Mallory when you two get close enough to the net." He nodded at them, determination setting in. "If this messes up, do everything you can to get the puck back, and I'll do everything I can to keep the puck out of the net… if they even get this far down." He added. Nosedive grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up.

"They won't big bro. Get ready to be bored." He said with a wink. Wildwing shook his head.

"Me? Bored? Never." He grinned. Duke grinned wickedly.

"Yeah. And we know why." He snickered, causing Wildwing to give him and look and Nosedive to laugh aloud. Canard shook his head, the others giving them odd looks.

"Go on, get out of here." Wildwing muttered, trying desperately to cling to his dignity. "We've got a game to win." He told them. The team nodded, then as one they threw their sticks into the air shouting together 'Ducks Rock!' With that they parted and got in place for the final play, Tanya looking up at the score board and sighing as she saw the time limit. If this worked, the only thing they'd have to do would be to hold off the opposing team from scoring again.

The puck was dropped and Nosedive quickly hit the puck to Duke, the dark feathered mallard taking off as Nosedive streaked away from the offending player and then checking another player into the boards so Canard could get into place. The teen then moved beside Duke and regained the puck, Canard and Grin moving up beside him as Tanya and Duke came to help Mallory get away from another player and get into place. The red head quickly skated near the offending goalie, and winked at him mischievously. He looked away from her, concentrating on Canard and Grin, ignoring her completely. He watched as Nosedive passed the puck to Canard, then yelp as he was tackled by another player and knocked down, the two falling into a heap. Canard and Grin skated onward, dodging the other players and then… hitting the puck to Mallory who hit the puck right past the goalie. He blinked at her, surprised as she grinned cheekily at him, waved, and skated away to cheer with her teammates and help Nosedive up. The blonde shook his head and stumbled a bit, but was all right after a moment and congratulated her with a smile and a pat on the back. 

Wildwing sighed in relief and cheered on his teammates, then looked up at the scoreboard. For a moment, his mind left the game and he quickly shook his head. The moment would come, but right now he was in a game. Nothing else really mattered. Except maybe that they had two minutes left in the game… and a lot could happen in two minutes. They were now only ahead by one point, and he was determined to keep it that way. And by the way the opposing team was acting, they were determined to change it all and take the game into overtime if they had to. He frowned as a player skated by before heading to his spot, shooting a bird at him and he shook his head. What was that man thinking he would achieve by doing something so childish? He again shook his head and watched as his brother once again gained the puck. This time however, the rush for the puck had become violent and Nosedive was sticked before he made it even two feet. A whistle was blown by the ref and they were given a power play, Nosedive wincing as Canard helped him stand. His skates had cut his left leg, but he kept on, the opposing team gaining the puck and heading straight to Wildwing. Grin tried to cut them off, only to check a player a second after the puck had been passed from him. The head scorer was headed straight for him, ten seconds on the clock and Wildwing could see the sweat beading off the humans face and onto the ice. He was nervous and pressed for time. Not a good combination. Wildwing smirked and began watching the humans moves, moving instantly when the puck was shot. The time buzzer went off and Wildwing stood as the crowd went silent in apprehension. He opened his right glove and dropped the puck onto the ice, causing the entire dome to rumble with loud cheers and foghorns being blown. The opposing teams energy died as they realized they'd lost, his own teammates rushing up to him and hugging him as they cheered happily. Then they calmed and thrust their sticks in the air once more.

**"DUCKS ROCK!!"** the cheer was echoed around them as several die hard fans yelled it with them, Phil even leaping up and down and shouting it as well. The team then hugged each other, happy they'd won. Maybe they wouldn't get the Stanley Cup, due to circumstances beyond their control (unconsciousness), but they'd finished the season, and won the games they'd played… including the last game of the season.

Tanya wrapped her arms around him causing him to lift her up and spin her around, only to plant a kiss on her and cause hoots to come from the crowd and the team. Wildwing could care less. He was happy they'd won. When they released each other, Tanya turned and gave Mallory a high five, Wildwing pulling off his gloves and looking at Duke and Nosedive. Nosedive took the gloves from him, Duke grabbing Tanya by the arm and gaining a hug. He snickered as Wildwing pulled a small velvet box from somewhere on his person.

"Hey Tanya, look at this." Was all he said, turning her back to Wing, people in the stands quieting as Wildwing got down on one knee. Nosedive and Duke pushed the others back, Mallory grinning widely in pure joy when she realized what was happening as Tanya stared at Wildwing in shock. Everyone was watching them, Duke waving a ref over. The human grinned cheekily and held out a microphone. Wildwing gave Duke an odd look and the older mallard ginned. Nosedive gave an evil laugh and Wildwing rolled his eyes, then took hold of Tanya's hands, pulling off the gloves and tossing them on the ice as she stared at him with her jaw dropped.

"What are you doing?" she asked, startled. He smiled at her, and settled himself a little better on his knee and opened the box, showing her a diamond ring and shocking her into total silence.

"Tanya. Will you marry me?" he asked her, his voice echoing throughout the dome. Silence fell around them, a few shouts coming from the crowd, only to be silenced quickly. Tanya nearly laughed aloud, and shook her head, her eyes wide as she was at a loss for words. She looked upwards for a moment, then back at Wildwing and smiled brightly.

"Yes!" She managed to say, nodding. Again the hockey rink was shaken with a loud roar from the crowd of humans, Wildwing slipping the ring on her finger and then standing and kissing her.

"GO WING!!" Nosedive's shout was heard above the people… somehow. Canard was laughing aloud and clapping for his friend in almost disbelief. Mallory was cheering, throwing her arms around Nosedive, the two then jumping up and down just for the heck of it and laughing at themselves. Grin was standing to the side, cheering with the others as Duke looked at his watch almost comically, grinning when Tanya and Wildwing parted. Phil was going nuts, talking on his cell phone a mile a minute. As the cheers continued, Tanya hugged Wildwing, holding him close and moved closer to his ear.

"I'm going to kill you." She muttered through a forced grin, a blush rising from her neck. Wildwing chuckled.

"Gonna' have to catch me first." He told her cheerfully. She chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"Now I know where Nosedive gets it from." She muttered.

"He learned from the best." Wildwing told her with a wink. She would have said something to him indignantly, but he'd cut her off with another kiss that caused her to forget about everything else for the moment. This, was bliss.

^-^

Wildwing laughed as he dodged another couch pillow thrown in his direction and ran off with Tanya hot on his heels, a pillow in hand. Nosedive snickered as he watched them hurry off, Kazar shaking his large head.

"Now we know where you get it from Nosedive." The dragon purred. Nosedive looked at him and draped an arm around his large neck.

"I learned from the best." He gushed. Kazar shook his head, smiling. They were sitting in the living room, Kazar lying on the floor while Nosedive leaned on him and Chameleon slept in his folded large arms. Mallory was on the opposite side of Nosedive, leaning her head on the dragons flank as she slept. It was late at night after the game, the ducks finally wearing out from the celebration held in honor of both the winning game and Wildwing and Tanya's engagement. Kazar sighed, causing Mallory to awaken and Nosedive to lean his head sadly against Kazar's large head.

"Tomorrow, we part ways." Kazar rumbled softly. Nosedive said nothing for a moment as Mallory blinked dully, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach.

"We'll see each other again." Nosedive whispered. "We have to Kazar. You're my friend… and Chameleon's my 'little buddy'." He nuzzled the dragon affectionately. "I'm glad we got the chance to be friends though." He said softly. Kazar smiled, tears coming to his eyes too quickly to be fought off.

"I'm glad too Nosedive." He said quietly. "I have been truly blessed… to have been able to get to know you…" Nosedive tightened the strange hug he was giving the dragon, burying his head into Kazar's neck to keep his emotions in check. "Is there any way we can try to keep in touch?" he was grasping for straws, but he had to try. Nosedive shook his head.

"I don't know." He muttered wetly, honestly. He sniffled. "We can ask Wing." He quieted when he felt someone sit next to him and wrap their arms around him. From the feel of it, the person was Mallory.

"You can try." Was the whispered offer, proving that it was Mallory.

"Yes. We can try." Kazar whispered, turning and nuzzling the two ducks, his favorites of the group. "We can try."

^-^

Phil was silent as the new 'Anaheim Mighty Ducks' team members stood on the ice before him, the original Mighty Ducks team standing with him.

"Well Wildwing… what do you think?" he asked. Wildwing nodded in approval, Kazar padding up behind them and causing the humans to look a little uncomfortable.

"From what I've seen, they'll do fine." He smiled and looked at Phil. "They're all really good players. You did a good job of picking." He said calmly. A chattering noise made him turn to see Chameleon crawling into Nosedive's arms and bury himself into the young mallards embrace.

"I'm c-c-cold!" the child saurian complained. Kazar smiled down at the child lovingly.

"My planet is nice and warm Chameleon. Just wait a moment. We shall be there soon." He said comfortingly. Chameleon nodded, teeth still chattering, and then clung to Nosedive with tears in his eyes. Wildwing watched the scene quietly, Tanya taking his arm. He looked at her and she smiled weakly. He nodded and looked at Phil, the new team moving aside almost curiously. There was a camera crew standing in the stands, filming everything faithfully.

"Thanks for everything Phil." Wildwing said softly, holding out his hand. The two shook hands and Wildwing smiled. "Hope you don't mind if we come back by every now and then to check up on you." He grinned. Phil smiled at him and nodded.

"I'm going to hold you to that Wildwing. Or I'll sue you." He added with a grin. Duke snorted, laughing.

"I'd love to see that Philly-boy." He grinned. Wildwing chuckled, then stopped for a moment.

"Oh yeah… I almost forgot. Phil, you called a press conference before we left for Germany, didn't you?"

"Yeah." 

"What was all that about?" Phil shrugged and smiled knowingly.

"I just wanted to chew out our happy poperatzzi about you guys. I know you'd kill me for it, but I told 'em about Dragaunus and all about Puckworld and how hard you guys had been working to keep that from happening here. Even had some help from Klegghorn and Chameleon." He grinned. Chameleon nodded, teeth still chattering.

"I was on TV!" he cheered. Then he buried himself deeper into Nosedive's chest, causing the young mallard to snicker and rub the child's head lovingly.

"Thanks Phil. That was really cool of you!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"Yeah, and where is Klegghorn?" Canard asked as Wildwing motioned for Kazar to move out onto the ice. In a single bound, Kazar leapt over them and slipped on the ice, moving his clawed feet rapidly to keep from falling over. He stood with his feet spread and his body taunt. Phil looked at the dragon for a moment, then shrugged at Canard.

"Dunno." He said. "He told me he wanted to be here, but…"

"I'm here, I'm here." He was cut off by Klegghorn's snappy shout, the smaller human walking up with his hands shoved into his trench coat and a frown on his face. Nosedive grinned at him as he moved out onto the ice, placing Chameleon on Kazar's neck, giving the two a hug before giving the human his full attention.

"You're late Cappy!" he exclaimed. Klegghorn glared at him.

"I was up late last night canceling some keg parties brought on by your happy occasion." He growled. He then walked up to Wildwing and stuck out his hand, surprising the white mallard. Shaking hands Klegghorn nodded at he and Tanya. "Congratulations on the engagement. I'm real happy for you birds."

"Well thanks Klegghorn." Wildwing smirked. Klegghorn shrugged and moved away.

"Yeah well… as long as I get you bags of feathers off my planet." He muttered. He cried out in surprise as Nosedive gave him a hug that lifted him off the ground.

"Aw Kleggy! We luv you too!" the young mallard exclaimed, gaining laughter from everyone and cries of protest from Klegghorn till he was set back on the ground. The short man glared at the blonde mallard, then smirked.

"You guys take care of yourselves." He told them. "And don't forget to visit sometime!" Wildwing smiled.

"We'll try to Klegghorn." He promised. Then he looked at Nosedive, his brother smiling and joining him. "Ready to go home Kazar, Chameleon?" he called. Kazar let out a loud yawn, Chameleon giggling happily.

"YEAH!" the child cheered as Kazar nodded. Wildwing smiled and raised his hands, Nosedive mimicking the motion.

"We'll miss you guys." He called.

"We will miss you all as well." Kazar answered as the brothers began to open a portal.

"I LOVE YOU!!" Chameleon shouted, throwing kisses, as goodbye hugs had been given earlier. Mallory smiled, fighting tears and throwing a few kisses of her own back and gaining a large smile from the child. Then Kazar leapt through the portal into a world of vast wilderness, a volcano smoking in the distance. As the portal closed, they heard a loud roar echoing through the land that let all know that Kazar was finally home.

The group then stilled themselves and Wildwing looked at Nosedive. Nosedive looked at him calmly, then smiled.

"Let's go home big bro." He said softly. Wildwing nodded and took Tanya's hand in his as he lifted a hand, Mallory placing a hand on Nosedive's shoulder as the others came closer.

"Let's go home." Wildwing repeated. The portal opened and the group walked through. The portal closed and Phil sighed.

"I'm gonna miss those guys." He muttered. Klegghorn nodded.

"I feel sorry for Thrash and Mookie." He said. Phil looked at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"They wanted to be here, but their boss wouldn't let them off." Klegghorn told him.

"Ah… so that's why Nosedive ran off late last night. I was wondering." Phil stated. Then he took a deep breath and slapped his hands together. "Well! It's time to introduce the new Anaheim Mighty Ducks to the world!" he exclaimed. Klegghorn shook his head with a smirk.

"Have fun!" he called, turning with a wave. Phil watched him go, then turned back to the team as the reporters hurried down for interviews. Silently he wished his friends well, and for a moment he swore he could hear them cheer about being home… even though they were universes away.

^-^

****

The End

__

*** 

^-^ Well, that's it! I'm done… sorta. ^-^ Hope you've enjoyed it all, and I know that I should probably have written something about the ducks getting home, but… I'm leaving that to your imagination for now. I'm still going to keep writing though. Because it's fun! ^-^ Hope you enjoyed it all, and I'm sorry it's taken so long for the story to be finished. I get it done, and fanfic.net won't let me sign in. *Fumes* I am not a happy author. Ah well… I have survived. Well, happy summer to all! Love ya!

*** 

Mighty Ducks belong to Disney, Kazar belongs to me. I belong to the Great King. ^-^ 'Nuff said. ^-^

**Thanks To Akima for all the help and for reading a newly finished product and giving me an honest opinion, and to Kaeera for info on Germany. 'Cus I've never been there ^-^'


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